White-tailed Eagles

 

Iolair Mhara

Two eagles lock talons in mid-flight
and tumble together towards the water

    as if they’ll never stop falling,

but they disentangle just in time
and ascend to the top

    of a scraggy Scots pine.

Still as Ross Island
they roost side by side,

    till one of them lifts,

glides over Lough Leane
then makes a thunder-bolt dive

    before levelling to snatch a salmon.

Will they settle,
build an unruly nest,

    fledge chicks that will spread

from here to Loch Iolar, Binn an Iolair,
Iolard Mór and Iolard Beag?

Our Favorite Essays of 2023 | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

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Hey California, the Peafowl Isn’t Your Scape-Bird | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

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