It rises shimmering! A firmament of stars!
A Milky Way of feathery lights!
O! That I could pull this plain undecorated soul into the air
And spark the wonder of the hidden Onlooker!

Copyright (2006) by Arnold Cantor.
All rights reserved.

[Written July 5, 1992in a sketchbook when i was studying the loon for a possible print.
I added these words afterwards: “The loon is -- if nothing else -- always alert!
It has a look of sharp-eyed alerness, with a glint in its eye of joy -- joy at being alive,
joy at living in its austere but beautiful environment.”]