Wounded Eagle

Hovering on the wind in the first soft layer
of creamy cloud, an eagle shifts slightly to
its left, then, in the same easy motion, lowers
its head and plunges into a steep dive toward
a loosely gathered covey of doves circling the
pond below.  The doves never saw the stealthy
approach.

Few things in nature are more exciting than a
wing-spread eagle riding currents of warm
spring air or crowning the highest branch
of an evergreen on a bright, crisp day.

A subtle elegance, quiet majesty are common
descriptions of the magnificent bird, but
along with them, fierce predator, stunning
power.

A creation of both elegant grace and coiled
strength, the eagle is a fitting icon of a country’s
values and virtues, an excellent image to place
atop the flag of a nation dedicated, by principle
and purpose, to live above political pettiness or
corporate deceit.

Armies, political forces, economic pressures
from distant lands and different eras have
tried to destroy or disgrace this soaring symbol
of freedom.  They have failed.

But today the eagle is wounded, perhaps severely,
by the behaviors and beliefs of the nation that
honors her.  Her own homeland.  Political
corruption and cowardice, disregard for
truth and human values, and a blatant
abandonment of the rule of law are arrows
that have found their way into feathers and
flesh.  The wound did not come from an
invading army nor from any force beyond
the nation’s borders.

It is an internal disease, an infection rampant
in the great one’s system.  Whether the disease
is fatal is yet unknown.  Who could have
imagined that the eagle would be so callously
wounded by those who have stood with a
pretense of patriotic pride as it soared above
purple mountains and along the shores of shining
seas, those who have placed hand over heart
and felt nothing but a cold stillness?