Passage II

The Geese of Horicon Marsh

One Sunday morning in September, I convinced several friends to accompany me to a wildlife preserve famous for the remarkable number of Canada geese that stop during their annual migration there. This preserve, Horicon Marsh, is located in southeast Wisconsin, just a three-hour drive from my home.

I hadn't been to Horicon Marsh in a few years, but my memories of visiting the preserve were still vivid. Often, when I feel a need within myself to have a tranquil moment, I try to summon images of the tall grasses and furry cattails and the mallards, herons, and geese whom are found in the 32,000-acre marsh. Thinking about the geese is always especially comforting. Their sheer number—thousands upon thousands of them coming down from Hudson Bay in Canada—are astonishing.

The sound of the distant honking of these majestic birds always makes me look up. Therefore, I'm moved by the timbre of their voices and the romantic notion that they get the urge to travel when the seasons change. I've always felt that the migration of the Canada geese symbolizes the arrival of fall, which is the favorite season of many people.

As my friends and I drove to Horicon Marsh that cool morning, I suddenly recalled a trip from my childhood. I recalled sitting in the back seat of our station wagon, looking out in awe at all the geese. My mother was saying, "Look how close they are!" and my father was turning his face toward the slate gray sky in wonder. The V-shaped skein of geese was so large that it seemed to stretch across the sky.

That memory was in my mind during the drive to Horicon Marsh. When my friends and I got to the marsh, we wandered around. We trained our binoculars on the white herons laughed at the frolicking mallards, and could not get over the huge flocks of geese. (28)

Standing on the edge of the marsh at early evening, we watched a perfectly formed V of geese approach, fly low overhead, and then continue to the other side of the marsh. I can hear the beating of their wings and their mournful honking even now.