.
Far from the city’s ceaseless bustle—
__That’s where the eagle flies!
Borne by the means of plume and muscle—
__That’s how the eagle flies!
There she is one with updrafts rising;
There she knows pleasures worth surmising—
Beauty and power synthesising
__Thrill when the eagle flies.
There, I could watch her soar forever,
__Up where the eagle flies!
There she performs manoeuvres clever—
__See how the eagle flies!
Is she aware of pain and sorrow?
Does her keen eye foresee tomorrow?
Would that my troubled mind could borrow
__Spirit that always flies!
.
.
David Watt is a writer from Canberra, the “Bush Capital” of Australia. He has contributed regularly to Collections of Poetry and Prose by Robin Barratt. When not working for IP (Intellectual Property) Australia, he finds time to appreciate the intrinsic beauty of traditional rhyming poetry.
What a great poem with such a wonderfully appropriate meter!
Uplifting, indeed!
Thanks Joe, I’m so glad you enjoyed my short poem. In writing, I set out to emphasize the first foot of each line in order to reflect some of the eagle’s power.
David, the poem is a wonderful little flight of fancy, and if that is a bald Eagle (I don’t know much about American birds), then she and I have at least one thing in common. We have two eagles in U.K., the golden eagle and the white-tailed sea eagle and the sea Eagle is a bit bigger than your wedge-tailed (I think). But we don’t have kangaroos strolling about on the lawns in front of our Houses of Parliament.
Hello Peter, I was thinking about our wedge-tailed eagles when writing this piece. We also have sea eagles, but I have more often seen wedge-tails in flight.
Yes, we have an abundance of kangaroos in Canberra, and a few galahs in parliament! With all the rain we’ve had recently, the well-fed roos are thankfully staying further from the roads.
Beautifully structured poem, David, providing something of the feeling of flight. Of course, that includes excellent use of the varied refrains. There was a thought-stop (at least for me) with the word “surmising,” because we change quickly from contemplating the eagle, who does not do the surmising, to ourselves for whom it is worthwhile. Perhaps the complex structure of that sentence shows the need for a mental jump on the reader’s part–entirely appropriate! And you are moving toward a focus on the reader in the second stanza.
This is great work of suiting form to content.
Margaret, you have made a valid point about use of the word ‘surmising’ in the first stanza. There is a transition from contemplating the eagle, to considering the pleasures experienced by the eagle in flight. I am delighted that you found the poem’s content a happy marriage to the form,
I love it, too!
Yeah! Good ‘un!
Thanks for the read, David.
David, what a super poem about these iconic creatures. I was interested to read that in Mongolia, there is a tradition of taking chicks from their nests, and training them to hunt for foxes from horseback. Those guys certainly know how to have fun. Thanks for a great read today.
Thank you all for your appreciation of my tribute to eagles.
Jeff, I saw a T.V. documentary some time ago on the very subject of fox hunting from horseback. Those Mongolian horsemen are still a fearsome bunch.
They could win the Grand National, if only they could shed sufficient weight!
David, I love the brevity, beauty and musicality of this uplifting poem. Oh to soar above this life and glide upon free wing… this is the song of my heart, and you have captured that spirit of wonder with your magnificent poem. Thank you!
Thank you Susan, I am so glad you enjoyed my tribute to beautiful creatures who will never have their freedom curtailed, or their spirit challenged.