February 14, 2007 -
We were utilizing some of the
Brilliance of modern technology;
Me, driving my grandmother
To a Dr’s appointment hours away,
While he and I ,on our cells,
Marveled over the amazing Valentine miracle.

Living 5 ½ hours apart,
In different states,
Having never laid eyes on eyes,
We, individually,
Spent hours each to find the perfect Valentine,
Only to discover we’d sent to one another
Identical twin Valentine Cards.
Now, thinks us,
THAT SAYS SOMETHING,
Doesn’t it?

Surely something amazing!
(While I agree to quit calling you Surely)

Well, doesn’t it?

When out of the corner of my eye,
On the right hand side of the freeway,
Two birds swooped and danced -
One, a large Raven,
The other, some bird at least 400% bigger
Than that Raven -
A magnificent…….something.
Eagle? Hawk? Condor?
Brown with lighter brown accents,
Not a bald eagle at all,
But some HUGE bird.

Only half realizing the events unfolding before me.
I privately ooooohed and ahhhhhhhhed to myself
At the magnificent dance
While we chattered on about miracles and omens.

Quite suddenly
Yet at the same time, somehow, in slow motion,
The big brown bird turned our way -
For a moment, I thought,
It must be only for a moment –
Crossed over the slow traffic lane,
Leveled out and flapped his gigantic wings
Straight
Toward
Our
Car.
Flapping massive wings,
One, two, three, four…..

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God”
Ran the words through my brain
As he flew unswervingly in our direction,
Looming larger and larger still,
Wing span wider than my
Chevy Malibu’s front windshield.
I begin to think, “Holy crap, He’s going to hit us,
He’s going to fly right into us,”
And I began to brake, brake, brake -
Slowing to nearly 30mph in the fast lane –

Five, Six, SEVen, EIGHT massive flaps
Slow, steady, certain,
Never hesitant in His intention,
My nearly blind grandmother
Actually braced herself for the impact
Until SWOOP, up and over the windshield
He soared
While my car slowed to a near stop,
And my heart willed to drive us forward
On sheer adrenaline
And away from the near miss.

Days later,
My mind ponders what it could mean.
I try to rationalize it into some
Understandable box of perception
But I have yet to grasp it
Simply or with some greater perspective
So I’m left with the phenomenom
That was February 14, 2007.

02/21/2007

Author's Note: True story. I still don't know what it means. This bird was a burnt orange/brown color with lighter feathers and spots. I'm dying to know what it meant. I know that a bird's sight and radar are so excellent that had he truly been on a suicide mission, it would have hit us for certain.

Posted on 02/22/2007
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