Eagle Triumphant: a #haibun

The day finally came when I flew from the massive nest I called home. Some span of days later, I met my mate.
We conceived our first child spiralling together toward the earth.
An Eagle Ascending

I drive away the osprey from its catch. Yes, a part of me sorrows at my injustice. Only a part: my eaglets come first.

Returning to the nest, I feed my young, leaving enough for my mate. When she decides to hunt, I stay with the frisky fellows.

They already want to fly. Soon, they will.

passing hare

a smear of blood

left behind

Will he have his own Eagle Scout Court of Honor someday?
Another Eagle Ascends

The day that Frank earned the rank of star, one of the members of his board of review asked him if he wanted to pursue the rank of Eagle scout, the Boy Scouts of America’s prestigious top rank..

He said no.

twilight a hidden regret

One day, Mira and I sat him down at the kitchen table. I showed him the requirements for Life and Eagle scout. I shared with him the merit badges he had, and the ones he would need. Mira encouraged him.

After looking up from the book, Frank turned to us and said, “I can do this.”

He earned his life rank and began to research Eagle Scout Service Projects, a critical requirement. Soon enough, he had one: restoring a park memorial to a prominent, local resident (and Boy Scout of America co-founder). After a grueling process of drafting, revising, and presenting for BSA approval, his Service Project proposal, Frank went to work executing his project.

daybreak a rennaisance

Beginning in October, he led scouts, friends and adults each weekend through various phases of his project. We removed old bushes and a rotting sign on the first day. We laid down landscape fabric and $400 worth of donated bushes on the second. Similar work continued on the following weekends throughout Autumn.

Whether guiding scouts on sanding and staining bench and table planks, modeling how to dig out the ground for laying a lumber frame, or securing a dump-truck’s-worth of gravel, Frank demonstrated the leadership that characterizes the Eagle scout. By the beginning of January, he completed the restoration.

dusk a well-earned rest

After he sits for his BSA Eagle board of review at the end of February, my son, Frank, will become an Eagle scout. Today, February 27, 2021, he sat at his board.

He will have his own Eagle Scout Court of Honor.

clear sunlight

the twinkle

in a new man’s eye