A Safe Place

Written during the tumultuous spring of 2020; I watch a peaceful scene on an Osprey webcam, while reflecting on the not-so-peaceful news of the day.

The world is reeling in the grip of an insidious illness,

while the osprey couple calmly return to their nest

high above the Columbia River.

 

A “gentle giant”, George Floyd, is asphyxiated by

an officer of the law and the nation grieves,

while the osprey mother patiently nestles her eggs.

 

Protests over the death of the black man

and many other black lives ended

rage in the cities,

while an osprey chick emerges from its shell.

 

The father osprey brings a fish to the mother,

who tears off  bits of it to nourish her young,

while far from the nest,

the world is losing its mind.

Reviews

[Zoe Richardson]

The world has indeed lost its mind. But we can take comfort and courage from the simple act of a bird feeding its family. And in the simple act of caring for our own. Sometimes we have to take our eye off the disarray of now to make sense of how to move forward.

[Shelley Warner]

I like that. Thanks for reading.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Humanity is a force of nature unto itself. The creatures of the world will continue to exist with or without us. Despite our immediate forward process of imminent demise. We choose to eat our own young while the animals act much more civilized then us. Welcome to the new world. Thank you for your poem Shelley it truly is an eye opener.

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you Carlos. I appreciate your reviews. The Osprey nest is not always a safe place. This summer, one chick got caught on the mom's wing and accidentally flung out of the nest! Sometimes older chicks pick on younger ones at feeding time. But that particular day that I watched, I felt the tranquility in the nest compared to humanity.