Roads of Magnetized Air

Migrating geese flying over the Skagit Valley

“I believe in those winged purposes . . .”
— Walt Whitman, from Song of Myself

While we were awaiting sunrise, a long necklace of migrating geese flew high over the Skagit Valley.  How fortunate we happened to be at this spot at just the right time.  Witnessing this natural mystery felt like a gift in a day already full of natural wonders.

China
by Jane Hirshfield

Whales follow
the whale-roads.
Geese,
roads of magnetized air.

To go great distances
exactitudes matter.

Yet how often
the heart
that sets out for Peru
arrives in China.

Steering hard.
Consulting the charts
the whole journey.

“Every map is a guide to finding the desireable and navigating the dangerous.”
— Rebecca Solnit, Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas