On the day before the election I was walking with a friend on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. This is a favorite walk as you pass by the magnificent homes whose original owners were those that helped shape the city into its identity as Minnesota’s capital. Not long into our walk we came upon a flock of turkeys making themselves at home in the front yard of a beautiful mansion. Oddly, this is not an unusual sight. As the birds pecked their way in the grass I remarked to my friend that these creatures could have been the symbol of our country instead of the eagle. We laughed at this given that the knowledge comes not from any history book we studied but from the Broadway musical ‘1776’. In one scene our founders argued over the legitimacy of the two beautiful, yet very different, birds to become the star symbol of the experiment of this democracy.

The day after the election I took what has become a favorite trip down the Wisconsin side of the river to try to make sense of the choices our country had made and my own feelings about it. This drive was one I took many times during COVID and there is something about the rolling farm fields and the flowing river that I find very comforting, that helps me gain some perspective. After going as far as Nelson, I turned toward Wabasha and crossed back into Minnesota. All along the way I split my focus between the road and the sky as I watched for that national symbol, the eagles, that I know soar above this part of the state. Driving into this river town,I followed a pull that I couldn’t explain and walked into the  National Eagle Center, something I hadn’t done in years.

Standing with a group of folks that represented several generations, I listened to a young man talk about the two majestic birds in the room. He talked of how we nearly lost the presence of this symbol due to the use of harmful chemicals. They were nearly extinct but are now visible across the country. Several times the birds would let out a screech that was startling. The handler assured us that they were not squawking at us but at something they could see far out the window and down the river, something maybe miles away. That whole ‘eagle eye’ thing is real! 

As I observed these magnificent birds I was reminded of the ‘1776’ conversation from the days before and how it felt as if so much had changed in such a short time. On one of the placards in the museum it was explained that the eagle, known as ‘wambdi’ to the First People, the Dakota, was honored because they represented honesty, truth, majesty, strength, courage, wisdom, power and freedom and they carried the prayers of the people to the Creator. I sat with that for awhile. My prayer in that moment was that all of those attributes would be infused in, we the people, as well as the winged ones. I prayed that our collective prayers for our country would be carried on their strong wings.

Then I remembered this poem by Joy Harjo, the first Native American to become the Poet Laureate of the United States. It is simply called “Eagle Poem”.

To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.

I was reminded that the eagles I observed at the Eagle Center were tethered inside a building but their eyes could see life far out the window, down the river and they called out to what was unseen to us. This election has the power to tether many, those on the margins and those that have been demonized by horrible political rhetoric.  It also has the power to hold our hearts and collective, creative spirit in a grip that will keep us remembering that we, like the eagle, can circle those most vulnerable in utmost care and kindness. We must all rise up with the strength of the eagle. And we pray that it will be done…in beauty…in beauty.

**If you are interested in the song from ‘1776’ please see this link.