peregrine, prey, and poetry

A Song For British Columbia

I pray, “Oh God, please guide my hand To tell the story of this land.” Not of the endless war and strife, But just the better things of life.

The artist with his agile brush; The song of meadow-lark and thrush; The babbling of some mountain brook, And beauty everywhere you look.

The trout that leaps to catch a fly, The eagle soaring in the sky. The deer who, seeking to get cool, Go splashing in the mountain pool.

The mountain sheep, high on a crag Near timberline; The leaping stag; The black and brown bear in the wood, These are some things that make life good.

The sighing of the summer breeze; The meadows, swamps, the lakes and trees; The mountain tops, their peaks so nude; The wilderness, the solitude.

The waves upon the rocky shore, The cataracts that leap and roar, The evening quiet; The lovely land Where soft waves kiss the moonlit sand.

The owl who is at home by night; The snipe in its erractic flight; The full moon like a golden ball; The coming of the Spring and Fall.

The rainbow’s arch, the noonday sky; The falcon swooping swiftly by. The fox, the wolf, the lowly shrew, The clouds when sun comes shining through…

The geese when they go winging south; The young bird, with wide open mouth; The man who grins when things go wrong, The child whose lips burst into song.

The towering hills stand guard around Each valley with its fertile ground. Such loveliness, so close at hand! “Oh, God above, I love this land!”

-R.J. Salmon, Rosedale

[The song, and the inspiration for the image of the falcon way up above, were taken from the June 1968 edition of Wildlife Review. A BC-based magazine “dedicated to the understanding and wise use of BC’s wildlife and other resources”. Wildlife Review, with it’s poetic articles, and beautifully detailed sketches, is no longer in print- but i can show you a copy sometime.]

This chick is also Canadian. And beautiful.