Every spring the ospreys return to their nest

on top of the pergola at the end of the neighbor’s dock.

The nest is as big as the tire on an eighteen-wheel truck

and latched into the lattice of rafters and crossbeams

 

on top of the pergola at the end of the neighbor’s dock.

It’s true that ospreys mate for life, although

they travel solitarily (not in a flock),

and even mates come north at different times

 

from separate warmer climes to meet each spring

at the same nest where they always do the same thing:

reconstruct it with seagrass, fishing line and twine

on top of the pergola at the end of the neighbor’s dock,

 

branches and strings and other things (a sock

washed up on shore) because they need more space

on top of the pergola at the end of the neighbor’s dock

with its wide bay view, with any luck, for a chick or two.