bout de papier, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1986) — Spring/Summer 1986 // Printemps/Été 1986, p. 37
I awoke at sunrise to that haunting inimitable sound –
Faint it surely was but unmistakable
The “kraahk-waahk” of flying choristers
High in the dawn’s first light above our nation’s capital
A splendid “V” of Canada Geese, northward bound.
And this early morning rouse did but underline
The last outdoor sound at dusk the night before
Had been that self-same “kraahk-waahk” of day’s last flight.
And barely discernible in night’s fast fall
The ever-altering “V”, then positioning
For near-night landing on the Ottawa,
And replenishment of flying power
For tomorrow’s long and arduous continuation north.
And on they come, day in day out,
Past this ancient stopping place
At dawn and evening and throughout the day,
The millions in their flexing “V”s
(Wintering Canadians returning home?
Or summering Americans touring north?)
Above nationality and frontiers formal,
Taking their cue from nature, pressing on and on
To their place of breeding, their passport to immortality.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1986) — Spring/Summer 1986 // Printemps/Été 1986, p. 37. Read the rest of this issue →
