Poem Four: Revelation

From mid-February through early April about a million migrating sandhill cranes stop at the Platte River.

*

Path, revelation,

embodiment.

When sea ice melts

we lose reflectivity.

The sandhill crane moves north 

at the onset of spring.

Dogwood, star-faced,

cherry in bloom.

When the ice melts

we can no longer reflect.

They lean in wetlands, 

one leg, then two.

We lose reflectivity,

the ability to let go.

Some turn their heads 

or tuck them beneath a wing.  

Some stand in a creek 

while they sleep.

No compass.  

No path.

Changes in sea ice 

become extreme weather.

Lilacs loosen and sway.

Some birds wander

or settle on the ground.

How big are you 

compared to the moon?

 *