• A Salmon Family Tree

In human-terms, they might call forest a father

old-mans-beard hanging from a downcast chin, earth-rooted feet;

forest reaches limbs long over river

thick branched hands shading her from the noonday heat.

The river then, they may know as mother

for where and whom else do they come from, if not her?

For salmon, river is where life begins and transcends

so they may become water and tree: spruce, cedar and fir.

River gives many gifts to those who ask,

and even to those who do not know how to,

time and time again

she gives to those thirsty for life, as rivers do.

So salmon, born of their mother and sheltered by their father

soon leave to seek daringly

the wide open sea.

With a nod to all siblings on their way downstream

this river valley family holds them, releases them to grandmother estuary.

Seasons stay in constant flow, and salmon come back come fall;

return to the very stretch of riverbed from which they came.

They trust their children to river, to forest to raise

they give their bodies back to, and become

river and forest the same.

So also salmon give themselves to all family; to sister bear, and sibling wolf

and auntie raven, and cousin human, and to so many more of their river valley family

In this way, salmon become us all.

And so life cycles, like this,

in the places where land smiles upon the sea.

And so all of this to say, in human-terms at least

no salmon therefore, is ever the orphan I thought them to be.