Snow Geese on Sugar Lake

Cacophonous cries pierce the air
as thousands of white-winged geese
descend upon the marsh, packed together
like sardines, latecomers shoving others
for position, nestling close, feet paddling.

Then as if by signal, they begin
to lift off again, their black-tipped wings
rotating like tiny propellers whirring
and splattering across a dusty pink sky.

Soon they splotch the rippling water
with feathery tufts again, dozing in the sun
before they continue their spiral dance,
weaving back and forth, dipping and gliding
in zigzag patterns above the glassy lake.

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