Star Man Eagle Man

This story was written for Eddy when he graduated with his Master's Degree in 1989.
Star Man, Eagle Man
Dedicated to Eddy Eschner

When the smoke cleared he took a deep breath.
"Where am I? How'd I escape death?
Or did I?"

He looked down to see his old man's shell.
At first he couldn't see, he couldn't quite tell.
Then his eyes began to focus,
It must have been magic, hocus-pocus.
For where his wrinkled, tired bod once stood
An infant lay inside a cloaked hood.

He tried to laugh, instead he cried.
He crawled away to think and hide.
He realized he'd just been born;
From his life past he'd been torn.

Then his memory did start to fade
Just to these words his attention paid:

"Magic? Yes, indeed it's true;
Magic is what has made you.
A drop of this, a drop of that,
All mixed in the Wizard's hat.
Now we stir and add the most important things:
We add truth, easily seen;
We add freedom in the form of wings;
We add communication with all that is;
Strength and peace now are his;
We mix in family and lots of love;
And add more magic and plenty of
Powers plenty and powers true;
These are the things within you.
Take them now and live this life,
Hold on to peace and not to strife.
Guided always you shall be
Towards the light—your destiny.
Always question what you hear
Know in your heart that we are near.
If you're fearful of full of doubt,
Ask for us and we'll come out.
You are a man of the sky,
So in your dreams you'll often fly.
In this life though, stay close to earth,
For this is the planet of your birth.
But to keep you happy there are stars from high
That will shine and twinkle in your eye,
But only when you smile."

The young child thought a while.
I guess the message is loud and clear,
But I still don't know why I'm here.

"The answer may not be known for years,
Just keep looking deep in mirrors.
For through your eyes you can see your soul,
And it is there you'll find your goal."

So the child went on to live his years,
He played with his parents and his peers.
He had a brother and sisters, two.
And pets galore to name a few;
There were ducks and pigeons and birds of wing,
Owls and pheasants and crows that sing,
Of azure skies and mountains tall,
To all the neighbors they would call.

And all the while,
The boy would smile.

He would look off distant and afar,
And in his eyes you could see the star.
Only sky did they reflect,
Along with all of his respect.

Some where deep down the boy knew,
There once was a life in which he flew.
But most of the memories were now all gone,
So his life carried on.

His family was the very best,
Although his little sister could be a pest.
They laughed and played and called names too,
And all the while they grew and grew.
All through his days he felt the drive,
To know why he was alive.

"Earth bound I am? Earth bound I'll be!"
He set out to see all he could see.
As he grew, so did his dreams.
He climbed up rocks and followed streams.
He learned his voice, the animals hear.
He speaks with them and dispels their fear.
He rides the rivers and skis the slopes
And through all this he still hopes,

To fly.
And he wonders why
His wings were clipped this time around.
"My lesson must be to center and ground."

So off, alone to the hot dry sands,
He takes only what's in his hands:
His life.

A higher knowledge he has gained,
And many times he has refrained,
From striking out at those with power.
He's been learning every minute, every hour.

But not at school,
Although a useful tool,
Watching, listening is so much faster.
In fact, he is now quite a master.

He seeks the truth, which guides his days
And shares his knowledge in many ways.

The natives to this earthly land
Know him as their brother and
Remember him from times before.
They tell of him in their folklore.
They sit around the fire glow
And pass the stories for all to know.
They start out quiet, but get quite strong,
As the night of stories goes on long.
The elder moves in quiet spirit,
But loud enough that they can hear it.
These are the words he would tell,
Of the night the bright star fell.

"There was a time when life was still,
There were no animals to hunt or kill.
All the people feared they'd die.
They huddled near and wondered why,
The life they'd been given was being taken away.
"Did we not give thanks? Did we not pray?"
They started to think they were at fault,
To this the shaman put a halt.
He pointed out across the land.
All the people saw was sand,
But not the shaman, his eyes were clear.
"Do not worry. Do not fear.
It's on its way, It's almost here."

Next they knew there was great wind,
A twister was coming, toward them it spinned.
It twirled and danced up to their hill,
Did one last spin, then all was still.
Once it stopped, it turned to two;
A man and woman cloaked in blue.

Fearful not, although they looked quite wild.
It was clear she was to bear a child.
They both seemed holy and should be revered,
But there was nothing to offer since life had severed.
This time of hunger was the worst,
They were empty and full of thirst.

Then a sound filled the air,
The people looked to see from where.
Then they recognized the song,
And, with the couple, they sang along:

"Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so bright,
Like a diamond in the night.
Twinkle, twinkle little star,
How I wonder what you are."

As they sang, the sky grew dim.
Stars a rose around the rim,
Of the swaying, song-filled earth.
Then the woman prepared for birth.

As she shuddered in excited pain,
The misty night began to rain.
By now the sky had grown quite dark,
The people looked up to see a spark.
The highest, brightest star around,
Was falling, no, flying toward the ground.

The people first shook with fear,
But calmed as the star grew near.
It flew on wings, big and strong.
It seemed to glide with the song.

The woman labored all the while,
With each push the star would smile.
It flew down, oh, so regal,
Swooping, graceful as an eagle.
Closer, closer it did glide.
Some of the people ran to hide,

But the woman knew she need not fear.
To her its purpose was quite clear.
It came to her for the birth,
To bring its soul down to earth.

It entered her through the head
And, inside, these words said,
"I am here, I am your son.
Star Man, Eagle Man, I'm the one,
To bring union back to those that live;
To teach them how to share and give.
They must learn to take care
Of the water, land and air.
I have come to teach them how,
For this purpose the time is now."

At that moment, born was the child;
Handsome, strong, laughing wild,
Stars in his eyes -when he smiled.
The people all gathered near,
The boy's eyes dispelled their fear.

Someone yelled, "Look over there!"
Gathering were beasts and birds of air.
Plants were growing in the rain,
Movement was seen across the plain.

To the people life returned.
For Star Man, Eagle Man respect was earned.
He taught them not to kill for fun,
That only true need was the reason—one.
He taught them not to waste the kill,
"Use everything, not just your fill."

He explained, from a star's eye view,
to all the creatures old and new,
"We must remember - one we are,
Love each other!" exclaimed the star.
"This one lesson must be known,
If new life is to be grown."

He taught them to live in harmony,
And how to set their spirit free.
He showed them how to care for earth,
And all about the planet's worth.

He stayed with them 'til he grew quite old,
Then one night the thunder rolled,
And lightning flashed across the sky.
Star Man, Eagle Man laid down to die.

That was just his human shell,
His lessons live on for all to tell.
But even still Star Man knew
That his job was not quite through.
So he looked for a new form,
Within which to be born.
Not as easy as it seems,
Star Man searched through people's dreams,
Until he found some folks just right,
To help him with his earth-bound plight.

You see
The earth is changing very fast,
Without his help it may not last.”

Around the fire this story was told,
To all the people, young and old.
In the hopes they would remember,
Along time past the dying ember.

It's not easy to hold such power,
On the earth in the present hour.
The family had to be just right;
One of love and one of light.
They would need to understand,
And sometimes offer a helping hand.
One more thing they had to know,
And that was when to let go.
For a star cannot burn bright,
When its held a bit too tight.

They had to love him without rules.
Although they sometimes felt like fools,
He somehow taught them how to do it,
And they saw each other through it.
For this lesson can be tough,
Sometimes the best seems not enough.
They had to learn how to trust,
Knowing this was a must.
To help Star Man with his goals,
He chose parents with old souls.

While all of this I tell is true,
It is only known to you.
Because his body had to grow,
His purpose here, he didn't yet know.

Then one day it all came clear,
As he looked into a mirror.
He was looking at his reflection,
Across his mind flashed introspection.
He saw the future and the past,
It all moved by very fast.
He saw his earth bound, winged flight,
Long ago, that misty night.
He remembered all he knew,
Of why he'd come the last time through.

Then he looked ahead some years,
And his eyes filled up with tears.
Next he knew, it was quite clear,
Just exactly why he was here.
Once again he must lead the way,
And use his light, night and day.
To illumine minds here on earth,
This was the reason for his birth.

So he went about his task,
For his help you needn't ask.
A common good was on his mind,
He'd hunt for problems and solutions find.
Sometimes his task would overwhelm,
He wished someone else would take the helm,
But he knew he was the one.
He wouldn't stop, 'til he was done.

He is protector to Earth Mother.
To the animals, he is brother.
To many of us, he is a friend,
And that he'll be, until the end.
He is a teacher to those he's taught.
He's filled our minds with many a thought.
He's taught us to go deeper, not just faster,
And to us all, he is a Master.

Star Man, Eagle Man—wherever you go,
There is something you must know:

We all love you very much!
The earth is better from your touch.
All our thanks goes out to you,
Shine your light, bright and true!

© Eve Eschner copyright 1989