In early winter when two bald eagles are courting
they fly up as high as they can, wings supporting,
hold onto each other’s talons and
dive
down
spiraling around each other they
have what ornithologists call a cartwheel display
until they get so close to the lake
and then they both let go and drift
along the surface of the water
If I were a eagle I would want to fly up somewhere high
And hold onto another eagle’s talons and
dive
down,
faster and faster until we look like a whirlwind tangle of white and gray,
Put on a showstopping cartwheel display
And all the ornithologists would be watching through their binoculars
But when we’re just over the water in that moment in time, talons locked,
Time freezes and splits
I know that I have to let go
but I don’t want to.
Beautiful ripples cascade along the surface as we skim the surface of the lake.
The vultures will carry the weight of our names on their tongues.
The display is over.
The display is over.
GO HOME.