Our Regal Perch (Reflections by Large Birds)

Does art imitate life or is life inspired by art? This age-old conundrum is at the root of this novella. Suffice to say that for the bald eagles depicted herein, life IS art. If these birds had access to a library, they might themselves ask: Which came first, the adventures of bald eagles, or the epic journeys of Ulysses? This latter question has a simple answer since bald eagles have roamed North America for nearly a million years.

A dozen years ago I was fortunate to purchase a brick and cedar cottage overlooking a broad sweep of the Missouri River. I face Iowa from the Nebraska bank, just within the city limits of Omaha, Nebraska. Some readers will recall Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” TV broadcasts. If Nebraska is a kingdom of birds, my little cottage is squarely within the kingdom of an eagle couple named Old Boy and Penelope.

Old Boy is getting on in years and when he recently disappeared during nesting season, his wife Penelope took it hard indeed. He was away for months and then one day, while I happened to have Claudio Monteverdi’s “Return of Ulysses to his Homeland” on my stereo, I looked out the window and there he was, returned from some faraway place, helicoptering with his Penelope in an ecstatic aerial dance. That’s when I understood Homer. Art confirms nature in an endless pirouette.

So this book is about large, married birds and their adventures. If it is about nature and the drama of life it is also about coexistence. Our national symbol lives just down the street. I don’t know about all eagles but I know two of them in some detail. If this is a story of fantasy and wonder it is also a tale grounded in natural history, of non-human neighbors engaged in heroic adventures and pastoral routines.

Is there something in these pages for lovers of poetry and theater? Yes, I do hope that is so. However, if you have come here not as a poetry person but rather as a bird watcher, a star gazer or simply a fan of quests or splendrous vistas, delay not, friends; share my perch; this tale is for you.

—- This book also contains three additional short stories set along Florence Bend.

Extra note: I’ve also written a full-length novel (2023) which charts the continued, fantastical adventures of Old Boy and Penelope. If you like Our Regal Perch, let me know and I’ll put you on a preferred mailing list for timely info on my newest work, tentatively titled Song Cavern Nine.