George Archibald's Whoopers

George Archibald’s Whoopers

 

One day each year,

if you happen to be outside

    breaking ice or carrying

    feed to the animals,

you might have the rare pleasure of

bearing witness to the noisy marvel

that is Whooping Cranes in flight.

 

With long necks outstretched

   they whoop!  whoop!  whoop!

   in celebration for their lives

so nearly lost in decades past.

Their extravagantly powerful wings,

arched like bent wide white wimples,

embrace seven feet of sky and more.

  

As they fly out of gray snow-laden 

clouds, they mirror the snowy fields 

over which they fly.

   Look up!  Look up!  they cry

   an arm in greeting

as they vee northward

bound for Canada and home.

 

Long dark legs stretch out behind

and finger-like primary feathers

   look like black-gloved hands

    against a pale winter sky.

Their elaborate high-stepping, raised-bill

dance still graces this world, thanks

   to one man’s extraordinary love.