“Dark-Eyed Junco on the Bridge” by Jane Beal

I cross over a bridge with silver railings
into another world. As I am crossing, I notice you,
sitting on silver, watching me, and my heart
goes out to you with love, little angel –

as you fall from a great height,
then catch the wind with your wings
and soar into the twilight sky over
the endless waters of the San Francisco Bay.

Jane Beal
Uncaged (in progress)

Canadian Geese in Kalamazoo, MI

Canadian Geese with Goslings
Goldsworthy Pond * Western Michigan University * Kalamazoo, MI
photos by Deirdre Dawson

“Baby Chicks in Larkspur” by Jane Beal

I went to Larkspur to have lunch with my friend
at a Thai food place with great coconut soup,

and while we were there, we heard music,
and followed it into a parade of people

celebrating spring, new life, and everything –
including baby chicks in a silver bucket

being adored by small children who were torn
between the birds and a tiny carousel

with horses painted bright
and beautifully.

jb

Uncaged (in progress)

Red-Necked Grebe

Red-Necked Grebe
(non-breeding)

spotted from the Wharf in Santa Cruz

Birds in Natural Bridges State Park

Yesterday, I visited Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, California. I saw three sharp-shinned hawks flying between tall trees, a California Gull by the ocean, and a hummingbird, a bushtit, and a Great White Egret in a green pond beside the Butterfly Sanctuary. A few monarchs fluttered here and here, and two were definitely flirting with each other, and it was all very beautiful to see — although poison oak was thriving everywhere, even interwoven with flowering blackberry brambles and growing through the railing of the walkway!

Great White Egret

(a song from “The Jazz Bird” by Jane Beal & Andrew Beal)

 

“Lincoln’s Sparrow by the Napa River”

Muddy river, tall grass, Lincoln’s sparrow singing –
I pause at the sound, lean on the railing, and look:

I see you, tiny and beautiful,
but when you see me,
you stop singing.

Sing again, little one –
I am walking away, and you
are safe in the world!

Jane Beal
Uncaged (in progress)

“A Distressed Duck” by Jane Beal

She was a beautiful mallard –
brown and white with a patch of dark blue
side-feathers, orange feet, and an orange beak.

She was hungry, and she was hunting,
her beak dipping into the grass,
but coming up empty.

She began to cry in distress,
making an awful sound,
and I wanted to help her.

I wished I had bread in my bag,
but I didn’t, so I tried to soothe her
with kind and gentle words.

She didn’t run, but walked away,
still dipping her beak left and right,
still coming up empty, still crying. 

At the corner, I had to turn one way,
and she another, but I glanced back:
two students had noticed her

and one of them was mocking
that awful sound she was making,
and the student suddenly lunged at the duck,

frustrated by that sound, but the other student
stopped her friend and said, “No,
don’t scare her.”

Jane Beal
Uncaged (in progress)