A week ago I released my falcon back into the prairie air above our ranch. In less than a minute she was soaring, far out, over the pastures that she had flown above for years. My life would soon be far too full to give her the time she deserved and it was my hope that I might catch a glimpse of her from time to time, as I passed through the north end of the ranch on my way to dismal appointments in Rapid City. I hoped that I would see her again, perhaps on the very pole from which I first lured her.
For several months now I knew that I would have to release her, and I planned it so that the young and dumb ground nesting birds of the Northern Plains would be at their most vulnerable to a falcon whose wildness had been dulled by a spell in captivity. She was in perfect feather, and fat as a Butterball turkey on my fist. I was deep in regret as I loosened the braces on her hood. The autumn and winter days that we had planned to spend together were leaden in my mind as I snipped her leather bracelets. And when I slipped the hood from her head, her bottomless, black eyes caught my eyes for only an instant.
She must have thought that this was just another day on the wing, sailing over me, waiting. But there was no dog in front of us, no duck pond with chuckling widgeons. When she launched and began to rise to a disappearing spot framed by the developing thunderhead over the Black Hills, my thoughts should naturally have gone to what the difficult winter ahead of me might have been. But instead they turned to a poem that I had not thought of in forty years. In fact, just then I could not even remember the name of the poem—only the first half of the second stanza where another man released his falcon:
When Offa’s kinsman first understood
That the earl would not suffer cowardice,
He let his beloved hawk fly from his hands
Away into the woods and then he advanced to the battle—
It took me a full day and a couple phone calls to recall that the stanza was from an ancient Anglo Saxon poem called “The Battle of Maldon.” It is the story of a battle that took place in 991 CE between inhabitants of the British Isles and a band of marauding Vikings. It was one of hundreds of poems that I was asked to read in college and, though I can remember almost none of them, that scene of the soldier releasing his falcon in preparation for a great battle has stuck with me. “The Battle of Maldon” is a fragment of a longer poem. There was a fire, and the beginning and end of the manuscript were lost. Only 325 lines remain and so, though we know from other histories that there was massive bloodshed and maimings of unimaginable proportion, we never learn exactly who the young warrior is or what happened to him in the end. He is a kind of Everyman who was involved in a cruel slaughter at the hands of the Vikings. But all we really know about the man with the falcon is that he fights bravely in a barbaric struggle and that, facing that struggle, he chooses to release his falcon so that he can focus on the mortal challenge that he knows he is about to face.
All of those thoughts have cycled through my mind in the days since I released my own falcon. I imagine that the ancient soldier felt the wind from his falcon’s wings in the same way I felt it from mine—a tiny awkward flapping until she gained enough lift to concentrate on power strokes that took her higher and higher. Into the blue prairie sky, into a thermal, and upward. What did the battle of Maldon look like from five thousand feet above? Could the falcon discern the falconer from the melee of humans struggling below? Probably not. All we are left with are 325 lines written in praise of bravery. And maybe that is enough, because our reaction to that eternal struggle is what makes us human.
41 comments
I also believed he released his falcon so that if he died in battle, she would not die with him. Think about that, too. And again today, I plugged your work in my Road Scholar class and was gratified to see some folks write down your name. I quote you every time on the value of this grassland in Custer County. Be well, and remember Julian of Norwich: All will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
That is a heart-warming story and brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing and restoring the prairie.
great story Dan and my heart is with you knowing how hard it had to be, but it has to give you some satisfaction that she and her kind were a great inspiration toward your love of restoring the prairie and now she can watch your work and enjoy the results every day. Thanks for sharing Dick
I cannot imagine how difficult that must have been for you, having read your books and knowing how much you love your birds. Beautifully written, and it brought more than a few tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing, Dan.
Oh, Dan, what a poignant moment! Thank you for capturing it to share with us as you were releasing her to her true life. I do hope you see one another again.
Literature continually teaches us: we aren’t alone in our human condition. So very well said by both you and the Anglo-Saxon writer.
A touching story. But remember, as was pointed out, these animals should be in the wild. They were not meant to be pets or personal possessions.
Words and thoughts transcend everyday cares. That is beautiful. Hope all is well with you. And thank you.
Beautiful moving prose, thanks! Now I’m wondering if we have another friend in common, Steve Bodio?
How does he know that this time he doesn’t return? I am obviously green but I’ve wondered that.
thank you, a wonderful sharing of loss and gain, all at once. we all gain more than we know when we let go.
Obviously from the other comments I’m not the only one to get teary eyed from this bit of great writing. Thank you Dan.
Just brilliant. I would have liked to have witnessed the release- a life moment for both of you
Thank you
As usual, another beautiful piece of writing about the glory of the natural world. One word, though, about the “cruel slaughter at the hands of the Vikings”.. As a professor of Scandinavian studies at Yale pointed out in an NPR interview about the History Channel’s “The Vikings”, cruelty was the order of the day. Read the history of the battle of Agincourt if you have any doubts. I just had to stand up for my Viking forebears! : >)
Thanks for that, Dan. And for your bravery and insight :)