Warbling up great canyons,
drifting over silent spaces of time.
When the moon fills,
when the night is soft,
loon laughter transforms
wildness into song.
It calls to another.
It dances on the
webbed feet
of the wind.
It mates whispering silence
to sound, reckless
and uninhibited,
primitive and
unbroken,
indigenous,
rowdy,
untouched.
Loon laughter echoes proudly over the hills.
It seeps into the cracks of untamed places.
It is reluctant to go to domesticated venues.
It watches purposefully over the North.
Wait for it.
Be ready for it.
Silence when it speaks.
Know you are listening
to the early,
distant sounds
of our first genesis.
We want it to last but then,
night swallows it up
in its ethereal embrace.
Testing the waters for truth,
measuring creation for its worth,
watchful of wilderness,
witness to God’s humor.
In tremolo,
haunting sounds
and unrehearsed
yodels.
John A. Bragstad is the author of two books: Compass Season and Nature's Poetry of Life. Both are available at Amazon or in local Grand Marais bookstores.
"Loon Laughter" is one of 50 verses from the book "Nature's Poetry of Life." Sections include "Summer's Glory," "Driftwood," "The Canoe Paddle," and "Haunting Moon."
Special thanks to Pixabay for the title image.