FOR MURPHY, THE BALD EAGLE
killed at thirty-three
in a St. Louis tornado
on March 15, 2025
at World Bird Sanctuary
mighty bald eagle,
your wings span seven feet.
with a broken leg and wing,
you could not survive in the wild
but lived thirty years in captivity
in the bird sanctuary.
touched by wildness
and a father’s heart,
you adopted a rock in your cage.
you built a stick nest for it,
then sat and brooded.
you tried to hatch the rock
until fate delivered an orphan.
you fostered the eaglet,
taught him survival skills,
raised him to release.
In my mind, I see you, Murphy.
your great wings wrap the boy,
you hold him in a tent
of bird body heat,
safe inside
a feathered hug.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
Inspired by: Article in the Washington Post of 3/24/25 about Murphy’s death.
https://spillwords.com/for-murphy-the-bald-eagle/
Date Published: October 13, 2026