The goslings

I waited weeks for them, the goslings;
I waited by the willow as it wept for winter's last hurrah;
I waited by the pond's edge as ripples spread near the edge;
I waited under the footbridge, searching for a telltale Mother Goose, sitting on eggs;
I found nothing, these past few weeks, yet still I waited;
I waited through sunshine, rain, clouds, yet nothing happened.

Teens came every day to the high school, in droves, they drove their cars;
They seemed so unformed, these near-adults, about to fly the coop,
To run off to college, these teens, testing their wings.

The day after graduation, the seniors drove in a caravan in front of the high school,
Showing their mettle, honking their car horns like 10,000 noisy geese;
That was the day Mr. and Mrs. Canada Goose strut across the road;
In front of the high school, in front of 100 newly-minted high school graduates,
And  Mr. and Mrs. Canada Goose brought along 6 tiny grey goslings, trying to cross the road.

The first senior stopped honking, the second senior stopped honking;
Soon, the third, fourth, fifth  stopped honking their car horns,
as they waited for the goslings to cross.

Newl-minted high school graduates, fledgling adults, waiting to test their own wings, waited, As 6 tiny grey goslings and their two grown parents, crossed the road, very, very slowly.

The sun passed in front of a cloud, a shadow passed momentarily over the high school.
The sun came out again, fingers of sunlight brightened the 6 tiny grey goslings, and the
100 newly minted high school graduates.

Everyone was silent.

The 6 tiny grey goslings and their two grown parents finished crossing the road.
The 100 newly minted high-school graduates, testing their wings, cheered.

There was such a din, all this honking of car horns, the seniors proclaiming their new-found independence, that the geese joined in, honking hink honk, hink honk, hink honk, hink honk, as I drove all the way home.