There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar.

Melville’s Moby Dick

At high noon on the fifth day, God made the eagle. In the fires of the forges of El he fashioned him. From the hottest part of the fire he beckoned him forth.

And to you oh great Eagle I grant these gifts:

“Thine eyes wilt shoot forth lightning, yea, your gaze will be like the morning. Piercing through the darkest of nights.

I give thee the strongest of wings to beat the wind with a alacrity: not lackadaisically like thy brother the Hawk.

Thy abode shall be the frozen north, the wastes where my Spirit dwells strongest. Few tread there, but I give you a constitution to bear it. And even more so, to thrive and soar over that north country.

You shall eat from mine own hand, plucking fishes from my deep.

All fowl and fish will live in fear of you, and every creeping thing that slithers through the wood.

Thou shalt be a King bird, and bear dominion over all fowls. Only my children will be over you…

And yet, even they will take inspiration from you: your wings and countenance will adorn their coins and banners, innumerable as grains of sand on the seashore.

Thy talons shall be sharper than any two edged sword for you alone are bestowed with my terrible strength.

But above all these things, I grant to you one final gift: you alone of all birds have gazed on the hem of my garment, and forthwith thou shalt have a white head.

Your form will be mighty, but above all these, it is your whiteness which will appall.”

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. ~ The King James Bible

The first bird that God made was the Songbird.

Before departing for the earth, God summoned him out of the void, and said to him:

“Oh Songbird, I give to you these gifts with which to ply thy trade:

Though shalt be the smallest of fowls, but thereby shall all the earth’s bounty be open to you. Your wingtips will alight to all the four corners of the globe.

And I give you the most adaptable of all beaks with which to break the seeds of brambles.

You will be the most industrious of all birds, and by your work shall the whole of the earth bear fruits. For you will take the seed to every rock and cranny of the earth.

From the Garden of the Two rivers to the furthest specks of land in my vast oceans.

Yea, to the ends of the earth. Those specks of rock hemmed in by the sea, which shall be a Terra Incognita to my children until they have come of age and are ready to partake of the Fruit of Knowledge.

The last gift I give to you is this, and by far the greatest of them:

Though shalt be a Herald to mine Dawn, and the coming of my light. By your song shall all beasts and men breath hope from my infinite wellspring.

They shall breath a sigh of relief, for the banishment of the terrors of the night is nigh at hand.

Of all fowl you are most alike to my Angels. Though tellest the whole earth of my promises and their perennial immutability.

And by your song shall the creatures of night shrink, and take succor in darkness.”