Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Entry #179

The Bald Eagle’s Swift Flight
by D. Altaba


The moment I saw this black and white picture of tree branches in the fall and a bird with large wings flying above them, I remembered having seen that same scene three years ago.

Driving in Mount Rainier National Park, my husband and I were spellbound by the natural beauty surrounding us: magnificent trees, high mountains and deep valleys. To capture the place with all our senses, we stopped next to the rock border on a viewpoint.

Suddenly, a huge bald eagle landed on the border by my window.
Surprised, I admired the strong creature and was struck by its
graceful figure and proud, held high head with shinny white feathers tumbling down like a king’s ermine cape over dark feathers that covered its body. The strength of its beck and its posture denoted its superior status in the bird realm, in the animal kingdom, in fact.

All this went through my mind in seconds, for immediately my eyes were mesmerized by its big, alert, intelligent eye that looked directly at me with a defiant, powerful, commanding attitude. Its keenness of vision allows this diurnal, carnivorous, bird of prey to plunge from great altitudes and catch his meal, preferably young mammals.

We did not moved, but as fast as the eagle had come, it departed. It took wing, and we saw it crossing above the branches of leafless trees with its wings stretched out. We shall never forget its short visit and its swift flight.


(Dolors Altaba (Rebeles) has written plays, novels, short stories, and essays. Published works: Aphra Behn’s English Feminism: Wit and Satire,(Susquehanna University Press, 1999). Essays: "Roots of Change" in Embryonic Landscapes, (Actar, 2001); “Aphra Behn’s Comedies” in Restoration and 18th Century Theater Research (1995); “Teaching Browning’s Poetry” in Newsletter (SUNY SB, 1989); “The Mystery of Gems” in (1973). And the short stories “Antiques”, “Tita” and “Admired” in Offerings from the Oasis, Collected Writings of the LHC Writers' Group, (2005, 2007, and 2009 respectively).

19 comments:

Laurel said...

Lovely snapshot, nicely rendered.

Unknown said...

Lovely, just lovely. Nice work.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Beautiful portrayal of the majestic beast. Well written.

Bernita said...

"its big, alert, intelligent eye that looked directly at me with a defiant, powerful, commanding attitude"

Such incidents explain why mankind has had the tendency throughout history to anthropomorphize birds and beasts, and invest them with paranatural power.

catvibe said...

I got the sense I was reading a memoire rather than fiction. Nicely rendered. It would be amazing to see an eagle from such a close distance, and to have eye contact with it. That would have made my Mt. Rainier vacation for sure.

Preeti said...

very lush description of a moment. i loved it.
and yes... at times we do require a lot of words to describe a split second feeling. and this never ceases to amaze me. how how on earth can we think so much in just a few seconds...???

:-)

laughingwolf said...

spelling errors turn me off... :(

lena said...

I like the descriptions, just somehow I feel it was over-descriptive. I would like some space to be left for the readers' imagination as well.

Deb Smythe said...

A real life story, yeah?

ollwen said...

Nice slice of life. Very well captures and conveyed. Thanks for sharing the memory.

Anonymous said...

Is "beck" the beak? The phrase "did not moved" detracts from a nice piece.

PJD said...

A nice moment.

A bit odd that we get an ornithology lesson in the middle. Its keenness of vision allows this diurnal, carnivorous, bird of prey to plunge from great altitudes and catch his meal, preferably young mammals. Sounds a bit like voice-over on an old Mutual of Omaha.

Craig said...

Nice description.

Kartik said...

Nicely written.

James R. Tomlinson said...

Nothing like a visual reminder of the past; Your narrative voice reads like a memoir.

JaneyV said...

Washington State is gorgeous. I have great memories of it. Thanks for sharing yours.

Anonymous said...



my caveat

Something I Would Keep

The image of the bird taking wing - such a nice build-up

Something I Might Tweak

First sentence of the last paragraph, the verb tense is off - "moved" should be "move".

Jean Ann Williams said...

Seemed memoir to me, also, and if this is so, you're fortunate!

Nice.

Chris Eldin said...

I love your opening paragraph. Nicely written!