Bird on a Limb

A Red-Breasted Robin perches on a limb

at the edge of an airport runway.

As a plane approaches and slows to zoom

onto the landing strip, I wonder

at the bird eagerly watching.

I remember standing on the Golden Gate Bridge

to watch The Fleet Come In many years ago,

and marvel at the Blue Angels flying formations

and daring feats of danger and bravado overhead.

As the crowd dispersed, I saw a group of five seagulls

effortlessly flying a formation in the opposite direction.

Technology imitating nature? Hundreds or thousands

of people and machines working together to simulate

the flight of birds who soar by birthright.

The caution of Ruth Bell Graham plays in the back

of my mind, to be humble when we fly and look

down on the peaks and grandeur of mountains,

that by right, we should only ever look up to in awe.

I think of the birds and wonder, do they look at us and laugh,

or are they on the sidelines coaxing us along

as the bigger creatures, watching our toddler attempts

and our intricate, complicated play?

~by Liesl Garner, 3-3-13

photo from here