welcome back!

I heard you call this morning

And I remember how your red epaulets

Quiver with each chorus.

You’ve found your way back.

Intrepid and weightless,

Eyes on the night

You’re like adult children returning from school.

Is this home or are you coming from home?

Overhead, your wings push out a formation

Then land on dollops of ice and water

The yin and yan of many lakes’

Spreading girth.

Remembering, I laugh out loud

And welcome the healing

In your clever industry

And your lusty song.

One of my favorite times in early spring is when the Red Wing blackbirds show up in the marshy areas among the cattails. This guy was trying to lure me away from their nesting area. His red epaulets are striking against his all black body. See more red here.