Shorebirds
By Cliff Fuglestad
Fated to roam the endless shores
Buffeted by wind and driving rain
Obedient to Nature's firm command
To journey north again and again
Leaving the warmth of sunny climes
Far below the northern sky
Forming up to answer the call
Heading north for another try
Not for them the soaring flight
Of stately form and graceful wing
Of vast armadas coursing aloft
Lordly heralds of the coming spring
Rather a cloud of shapeless form
Looming low against the land
A whirring sound of a thousand wings
Rising and falling to one command
A specter of movement and mindless toil
Of ceaseless effort in search of food
Of life devoid of hard earned rest
Of racing the sun towards a rendezvous
Far to the west lies their journey's end
There near the shores of Bering's sea
There to renew life's grand design
There to fulfill their destiny
When the sun begins its southward course
And the land lies brushed by fall's palette
Then young and old take up the call
Heading south towards hard earned rest
Fated to roam the endless shores
Buffeted by wind and driving rain
Obedient to Nature's firm command
To journey north again and again
Leaving the warmth of sunny climes
Far below the northern sky
Forming up to answer the call
Heading north for another try
Not for them the soaring flight
Of stately form and graceful wing
Of vast armadas coursing aloft
Lordly heralds of the coming spring
Rather a cloud of shapeless form
Looming low against the land
A whirring sound of a thousand wings
Rising and falling to one command
A specter of movement and mindless toil
Of ceaseless effort in search of food
Of life devoid of hard earned rest
Of racing the sun towards a rendezvous
Far to the west lies their journey's end
There near the shores of Bering's sea
There to renew life's grand design
There to fulfill their destiny
When the sun begins its southward course
And the land lies brushed by fall's palette
Then young and old take up the call
Heading south towards hard earned rest