How to peel and eat a poem: Mother eagle's Lullaby (Inspired by a visit at the Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City)

My sister repeatedly tells me that she liked my first booklet, Framed Words, because it contains essays aside from poems for the reason that not everyone can appreciate poems but can surely follow an essay. So, here is my tip for everyone to enjoy a poem or two in the collection, Specks.

A poem is a telling of a story in as little words as possible. Let's take  Mother eagle's Lullaby (Inspired by a visit at the Philippine Eagle Center, Davao City) in page 29 of Specks. I loved the idea that our Philippine Eagles are monogamous and take care of their hatchling together. This made me read more about them. What resulted is a creative storytelling of the reproductive habits of Philippine eagles, meaning, all information in the poem is based on my research on Philippine eagles' mating habit and how they take care of their birdlings.


From the voice of a mother eagle and in the first few lines, what is being established is the pregnancy of the mother eagle:

"You were inside me for some time.
When you were about to go out,
I could not eat for days.
Only water filled me up.
My wings drooped like teardrops.
I fought off by making sounds
and by fortifying the nest."

Then what follows is when the hatchling is born, and how the parent eagles take on ensuring a surviving hatchling and a shared responsibility over parenthood is already observed:

"Until there you are, Dear One,
coming out this one lazy afternoon.
You will be the Only One.
He will warm you during the day
and I will warm you at night.
Sometimes, we will make love
out of fear that you will not see the world
and we have to have one.
But if you do, you will be The One.
We will warm you for two moons
until you will finally see the world.
And we will constantly feed you
and protect you
from the harshness of the world. "


As the hatchling grows after two months, it starts to be independent. Please do take note that the facts/traits mentioned in the poem are based on research, and at the risk of being repetitive, they are not mere fiction:

"You will love your nest
but eventually, you will go out:
You will closely scan tree cavities
and grasp the rim of knotholes.
You will learn to use your tail
and your wings to balance
while poking your head in the holes.
At the height of your playfulness,
you will hang yourself upside down
and you will mock attack several objects
on the ground and the tree crowns.
All of these, you will do until you are ready to hunt
and be on your own in search of your own habitat.

And the parent eagles suddenly suffer an "empty nest syndrome" just like any parent whose children are all gone to college:

"Dear One, you will be gone.
But he will be with me to do this ritual of comings
and goings every two years of our lives. 
Each time, we'll say, “Dear One, go ye and multiply.”

Phil eagles give birth every two years only and to one bird only. That is why they are endangered... But It is amazing how the humans can learn a lot and relate well from the coupledom and parenthood of Philippine eagles, and for the reader to see that is the aim of this poem.

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