My latest obsession, a young adolescent female swan, floats almost effortlessly, into an open circle of water. I conceal myself behind a clump of cattails. She slides towards my direction. I do not want to frighten her, so I sit still. She focuses her soft, almond shaped eyes on me. Then she turns to face her male counterpart, an eager —though feisty cob.
As they come closer, the trumpeter swans set themselves parallel to each other, with a precision that almost seems rehearsed. They extend their white elongated necks and form an elegantly shaped heart. I lift up my charcoal pencil to sketch them as the tips of their black beaks touch. But the quick-eyed female catches me in the midst of my artistic voyeurism. She cocks her head in disgust before outspreading her large wings and launching into a short flight across the lake.
Her cob unhappily watches her slip into a backdrop of flowering rushes. And then after noticing me drawing on the nearby Lake Erie shorelines, he too makes an exit, disappearing to a point not far from where his partner has landed, where I know they will resume their mating once they feel I have left.
The imagery in this piece is lovely! I really enjoy how you captured the swan’s grace with your words. It leaves me wanting more. How long have you been watching this swan and did you eventually get to sketch her? Great piece!