Above the shale scree
atop a dizzying steep
on a narrow ledge she
sits on speckled eggs
waiting for her mate
to bring her food and
take her place so she
can stretch, soar and
survey this gorge, its
stones slick with spray
from the roaring cataract
that never goes silent.
So many years that ledge
sat empty, awaiting their
unlikely return from the
brink of extinction
to find again this
ancestral home, narrow,
inaccessible, irresistible
nestled within layers of
petrified seabed slashed open
by glaciers and eons of
rushing waters.
Silently he streaks through
the misty sky and his talons
find a distracted swallow.
He lands at the nest and
offers it to her; hungrily
she devours it then drops
from the ledge and glides
across the cascading falls
as he scrambles to cover
their clutch of eggs.
The ancient rocks are mute
but the waters whisper
“all is as it should be.”
Poem by John Kaprielian
Nature photographer and photo editor by occupation, John Kaprielian brings his keen eye for natural history to his poems, which are often inspired by his observations. He studied creative writing at Cornell with the poet A.R. Ammons while getting his degree in Russian Linguistics, and is now pursuing a Masters Degree in Library and Information Science. He has been published in The Blue Nib, Minute Magazine, Poetry Quarterly, Crêpe & Penn, Canary, and other journals.