Valley of the Eagle by Jan Chronister

–After “Eagle Poem”

The photo my father took
of his ancestors’ farm in Norway
shows a fjord below mountains,
steep path down rocky hill
to a home surrounded by ferns,
familiar trees.

Driving Wisconsin roads
I raise my visor
to follow eagles’ flight
over river’s course.
Sometimes they flash up
from carcasses
or simply stand guard.
I consider them an omen
of good.

Looking up something else,
I stumble across the meaning
of my maiden name—
Erdahl, valley of the eagle.
It was there the whole time,
I just didn’t see it.