The Stork

White-winged keeper of continuance,

you arrive without fanfare,

legs long as memory,

beak steady with purpose.

You are neither myth nor comfort,

but a bearer,

the one who returns

when others move on.

Your wings cut long distances,

reminding us that care

is not rooted in stillness,

but in commitment.

Stork, you are not afraid of departure.

You leave when the season demands it,

you cross borders and waters,

and still you come back,

still you build.

In your nesting,

there is devotion without display.

In your return,

there is the promise

that life renews itself

again and again,

through patience,

through tending,

through time.