Deseo vivir siempre de forma que derive mis satisfacciones e inspiraciones de los sucesos más comunes, los fenómenos de todos los días, que lo que mis sentidos perciben cada hora, mi paseo diario, la conversación de mis vecinos, me pueda inspirar, y que no pueda soñar de ningún cielo distinto de aquél que está a mi alrededor.
HDT
(Diario11 de marzo de 1856)
HOMECOMING
Once only when the summer
was nearly over and my own
hair had been white as the day’s clouds
for more years than I was counting
I stood by the garden at evening
Paula was still weeding around
flowers that open after dark
and I looked up to the clear sky
and saw the new moon and at that
moment from behind me a band
of dark birds and then another
after it flying in silence
long curving wings hardly moving
the plovers just in from the sea
and the flight clear from Alaska
half their weight gone to get them home
but home now arriving without
a sound as it rose to meet them
— W.S. Merwin, from The Moon Before Morning
The Kolea (Pacific Golden Plover) leads a double life. From May to
August it nests and raises its young on Alaska's chilly subarctic
tundra. Come winter, just as its plumage turns from black and white to
gold and brown, the kolea makes its way to Hawaii's distant shores,
where it will remain for the next eight months before returning to
Alaska. It undertakes this incredible journey of nearly 3,000 miles
twice a year without stopping once to rest or feed. Amazingly, young
kolea, left far behind on the Alaskan coast, find their way to Hawaii
without any help from their parents. Those of us who witness the comings
and goings of these amazing birds often wonder how they travel across
thousands of miles of trackless ocean without losing their way. What
signs or clues do they follow? Do they use the sun and stars as their
guides? The ability of the kolea to navigate such a tremendous distance
remains a mystery.
Fotografía de Pacific Golden Plover por Dan Dzurisin
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