The solitary Trumpeter swan in a creek near my home this morning. (My picture's resolution is not sharp because I had to use the optical zoom of my phone camera.)
It was several days ago that a solitary swan showed up quite unexpectedly in a creek near my home in Naperville. During my nearly 18 years in Naperville, I do not remember having ever spotted a swan. I am sure they are there. It is just that I had not seen one before this one.
I have next to no knowledge of ornithology but from the looks of it, this is an adult swan whose wingspan could be five feet or more. A quick reading tells me that the one here in the photograph is the Trumpeter swan. They prefer open habitats and shallow water bodies of the kind the creek is.
On my morning walks, I do frequently stop just to watch this solitary swan. It is a remarkably serene experience because oftentimes it is completely still with its long neck curled up on its back. When it glides over the water, it creates lovely ripples which distort the reflection of maple trees on the shore of the creek, making it look like a Claude Monet painting. In fact, I do no think of Monet when I watch this swan.
I also think of Kalidas and his reference to the 'amorous cries of swans*". Of course, unlike the swans of Kalidas's poem 'Sharad', which glide in the "rivers drifting like wanton women" (As wonderfully translated by the Indian born British poet Usha Kishore), this solitary swan of Naperville is in a generally stagnant and sometimes foul-smelling creek. The presence of the swan somehow makes one momentarily forget the smell. This creek does not drift like a wanton woman but stagnates like an old print journalist.
It is always a charmingly reassuring start of the day to see the swan for me. It is a glorious reminder of the non-human sentient worlds that live in parallel to our own often wracked by conflict.
I am curious to see for how long would the swan keep coming to the creek. However many days it does, it will always bring a stillness to my mind with occasional ripples around it.