the eages perch and wait |
“Of Eagles, Before the Beckoning” Alert, their penetrating eyes, as sharp as talons, scrutinize the windblown underbrush below to pinpoint unsuspecting prey. Alight atop the barren trees They roost in winter's chilling breeze. On riverbanks the troops amass. Unfrozen waters percolate, unleashed from frigid sheets of ice. The eagles perch and wait. A muster, by instinct ordained, where fish are readily obtained. Efficient predators detect a swarming school of tawny carp. Descending raptors soar and dive - a frenzied clash of claws. Intrepid birds devour their loot amid tumultuous dispute. The hunting carries on for weeks until the mountains beckon them from places far away, to nest among the rocky clefts. The eagle squadrons mobilize ascending into northern skies. This is a Revanche poem - eight stanzas, alternating between quatrains and stanzas, combining blank and rhyming verse written in iambic tetrameter and trimeter. Along the Kansas River in downtown Lawrence (Kansas), the (bald) eagles gather to take advantage of some of the only open water for hundreds of miles. The eagles will likely be present here any time from about mid-December to March if the temperatures have been below about 20 degrees for a week or so. When all the other area lakes, streams, and rivers have frozen over, this small stretch of Kansas River remains open due to a small low water dam located here. http://www.kansasphototour.com/eagles.htm Eagles come here in search of fish, waterfowl, and other small game, which are readily attainable due to the lack of ice coverings on the river. The water moves vigorously over this river dam in downtown Lawrence. I have had the privilege of observing these marvelous birds of prey. Bald eagles will often fight among themselves for the right to feast on their prey. The eagles return to their homes in the north when nature calls them to mate and nest. |