Young Bear’s Poem "Our Bird Aegis" With His Commentary Essay, Research Paper

Our Bird Aegis

An immature black eagle walks assuredly

across a prairie meadow. He pauses in mid-step

with one talon over the wet snow to turn

around and see.

Imprinted in the tall grass behind him

are the shadows of his tracks,

claws instead of talons, the kind

that belong to a massive bear.

And he goes by that name:

Ma kwi so ta.

And so this aegis looms against the last

spring blizzard. We discover he’s concerned

and the white feathers of his spotted hat

flicker, signalling this.

With outstretched wings he tests the sutures.

Even he is subject to physical wounds and human

tragedy, he tells us.

The eyes of the Bear-King radiate through

the thick, falling snow. He meditates the loss

of my younger brother–and by custom

suppresses his emotions.