By Carolyn Pinet
Near the Clark Fork River, Iris the Osprey
plumps herself over a large egg
and we hold our breath in anxious anticipation
of a hatch.
We are all in the dark about this iffy endeavor,
Hope wrestles with Fear as in a hard fought fight:
two enemies dip and plunge, plunge and dip
while, mesmerized, we wait.
Let's face it: Hope stays defiant in
an attempt to overcome Fear.
We go pale with unreason,
clench our fingers, bite our lips
and long for a cure-all spell to bring
us to our senses in this troubled time
when some birds, confused by the vagaries
of the weather, lose all sense of direction
and fall flailing to the earth.
So - let's turn to one another and urge,
"Keep the faith! Keep the faith!"
Yes, we are often in the dark
and overcome with fear,
but just consider the osprey:
she knows exactly what she's doing -
here she is, maternal, protective, proud,
as, at last, her chick emerges from the shell,
to charm and delight us all
in this wayward, wondrous world,
luminous and lit with birdsong.
(..."The fundamental things apply as time goes by"!)