I never knew how fair a thing
was freedom, till I saw you swing,
Ragged, exultant, black and high,
Against a hollow, windy sky.
You that with such a horrid gait
Lumbers and flops with red, raw pate.
I never knew how beauty grew
>From ugliness, until you flew
With soaring, sombre, steady beat
Of wings rough-edged to grip the fleet
Far coursing horses of the sky --
To ride, to ride them gloriously.
Oh, brother buzzard, you whose sin
On earth is to be shackled in
To horror, teach me how to go
Like you, to beauty, sure and slow.
Like you, to slip such carrion ties
And lift and lift to high, clean skies,
Where winds and sun and silence ride,
Like you, oh buzzard, glorified.

Marjory was the author of Everglades:The River of Grass, The Joys of Birdwatching in Florida and many other books. She died at the age of 108 two weeks ago. She spent the last thirty years of her life fighting to save the everglades. Please post it.  South Florida is a major wintering area for eastern turkey vultures.

Posted on May 27, 1998 by:     Bob Kelley
                                                    Miami, FL.
                                                    RKelley@cs.cs.miami.edu

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