The Eagle
One morning last April, an eagle was out hunting, harassed by the usual complement of gulls. Birds harass each other a lot in general, and eagles come in for some special attention.
I get that. Eagles are predators and scavengers. Young birds of all kinds are vulnerable--we had a front-row seat one June morning to an eagle grabbing a duckling--so I understand why gulls and crows try to drive eagles away.
But you know what? Eagles play a vital role in the ecosystem. Eagles have families, and their families have to eat.
In any case, I tweeted about that morning; it's in the fuzzy picture below.
In case you can't read it: "With graceful elegance, a bald eagle plucked a fish from the lake, silencing the gulls."
Not necessarily my best tweet, but one that caught the attention of Creative Nonfiction magazine. To the left, it appears in print in Creative Nonfiction #61, Learning from Nature, in the compilation of Tiny Truths. Lots of interesting reading in that issue, by the way.
Today, a bunch of us are hearing yet again, "Who do you think you are? You want to run a country? You can't do that. We own this power, this society, this system--and your body, too--and you're not welcome or valued here. Know your place. Go away."
Many of us are yet again feeling pressure to live down to society's expectations. To become subservient because of our gender, sexual identity or orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, or abilities. To be less than who we know we can be.
To anyone hearing those messages: Ignore those gulls and grab your fish. Be the eagle you are. You DO belong here. You matter, your family matters, your voice matters. Don't listen to anyone, or any flock of screeching, bellowing, bullying anyones, who wants you to be less than your badass eagle self.
The world needs eagles. It needs you.
_______________
Interested in challenging yourself to share a Tiny Truth, to weave a story in 140 or fewer characters? You can find more information under the Tiny Truth Contest heading, here.
I get that. Eagles are predators and scavengers. Young birds of all kinds are vulnerable--we had a front-row seat one June morning to an eagle grabbing a duckling--so I understand why gulls and crows try to drive eagles away.
But you know what? Eagles play a vital role in the ecosystem. Eagles have families, and their families have to eat.
In any case, I tweeted about that morning; it's in the fuzzy picture below.
Not necessarily my best tweet, but one that caught the attention of Creative Nonfiction magazine. To the left, it appears in print in Creative Nonfiction #61, Learning from Nature, in the compilation of Tiny Truths. Lots of interesting reading in that issue, by the way.
Today, a bunch of us are hearing yet again, "Who do you think you are? You want to run a country? You can't do that. We own this power, this society, this system--and your body, too--and you're not welcome or valued here. Know your place. Go away."
Many of us are yet again feeling pressure to live down to society's expectations. To become subservient because of our gender, sexual identity or orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, or abilities. To be less than who we know we can be.
To anyone hearing those messages: Ignore those gulls and grab your fish. Be the eagle you are. You DO belong here. You matter, your family matters, your voice matters. Don't listen to anyone, or any flock of screeching, bellowing, bullying anyones, who wants you to be less than your badass eagle self.
The world needs eagles. It needs you.
_______________
Interested in challenging yourself to share a Tiny Truth, to weave a story in 140 or fewer characters? You can find more information under the Tiny Truth Contest heading, here.