Learning to Fly For the New Graduates

[Daniel Mark Extrom]

Learning to Fly

A Message from Parents to the New Graduate

Today we see a happy hawk
prepare to leave the nest.
Eager feet now take the walk:
so begins the test.

Excited, happy, tentative,
confident, afraid.
“Can I fly? Can I live?”—
emotions firm but frayed.

Parents’ thoughts race wildly
of tiny legs and wings,
recalling moments tenderly;
but time to cut the strings.

“Fly, come fly, majestically—
your wings spread wide and strong!
Keep us in your memory
as you fly so high and long!

“Remember what we’ve taught you:
move with strength and grace.
Let no one deter you
as you move among your space.

"There are many others similar,
but none so quite unique.
Your place above the clouds secure,
be strong in what you seek.

“The winds may blow against you,
cold and sharp and strong.
But nothing can restrain you:
know that you belong.

“Adversity is always there—
without it you’ll grow weak.
Be wary of the crowded air—
it’s filled with those who do not seek.

“Celebrate diversity—
without it, life’s mundane.
Seek individuality—
your name is your refrain.

“Find comfort in the friends you make,
but do not let them mold you:
the goals you hold may be at stake—
let integrity enfold you.

“Learn from those who love to learn,
and not from those who must.
Knowledge gained seeks return
and wisdom is a sacred trust.

“Now fly and do so happily!
You have passed the test.
But know that you will always be
a child in our nest.

“This is all we ask of you:
Be kind. Be strong. Be free.
And know that we will love you,
wherever you may be.”

DME
Copyright 2001-2014

[Brigid Briton]

Hi Dan,

While I enjoyed this tribute to new graduates for all its warm encouragement and reassurance that the fledglings will always be welcome in the nest, it points up the pitfalls of anthropomorphizing animals, even if there are some lovely metaphors there.

I say this because I've been an avid follower of Big Red and Ezra, the Cornell red-tailed hawks for the past three years, via a live "nest cam".(cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel/16/Red-tailed_Hawks/)

The fledging process isn't as easy as it sounds in this piece. It takes the young hawks at least a week after they're big enough to fly to actually make it out of the nest. Their first attempts are anything but grand and heroic, more like comic, frustrating and dangerous. Once out of the nest, they don't return, and, if they did, there would be no one there to greet them since the parents only maintain the nest during nesting season. Should one of the young try to return the next nesting season, it would be driven away by its parents, as they prepare for their next batch of babies.

Sadly, all three of the fledglings from last years brood died as the result of accidents within the first month or so of fledging.

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket on your graduation poem, and you do have some nice imagery, but the reality of the hawk family isn't something we'd really wish on our own kids. Even though the parent hawks are devoted to their young, once out of the nest, it's the end of their family life.

It's really great to be able to fly, but the trade-off is that you're really on your own once you do!

Brigid