Flown off course,
the plump pearly white goose,
has become something
of a celebrity.
Daily Ebird alerts ring out
to birders across the region.

The Ross’s Goose,
who breeds on the Arctic tundra,
usually migrates
from Victoria Island
and the Northwest territories,
down past Saskatchewan
through the Rocky Mountains
to the marshes and lakes
of the American West.

Except,
here swims one lone Ross’s Goose
across the river from the Nation’s Capital
among a flock
of larger Canadian Geese.
Smaller by half,
the Ross’s Goose
stands stark white
against a sea
of brown and black feathered Canadiens.

Little does the bird know
its choice to eschew
the beaten path
is teaching us humans
it is just fine
to go our own way.