In Tibetan culture, offering human remains to vultures is a Buddhist ritual of impermanence, compassion, & rebirth, symbolizing a return to nature & release of the soul. Makatsa & Mahlori have been at Walter Sisulu National Park since 2020. Their nest is near a waterfall over a ridge. Makatsa is returning in June 2023 to her mate standing guard over their chick, their 4th in four years. They're the only known pairing of Black Eagles in an urban environment. Poem: life surrendering to life life yields life in struggle she wings her way back to the nest precious prey in talon's grip paired with a Verreaux's Eagle returning to the nest with prey in her talons. [Derek Keats-Johannesburg, South Africa licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Verreaux%27s_Eagle._Black_Eagle,_Aquila_verreauxii,_at_Walter_Sisulu_National_Botanical_Garden,_Gauteng,_South_Africa_(19613704431).jpg] This image ©ilinkcs (2025/11)

Nature’s cycle of life
encapsulated in Jhator
Tibetan sky burial
a ceremony
returning humanity
yielding human life to Gaia

Our precious resources
not burned
not interred
returned

balance through transformation
not sacrifice

ALT=deets
#poetry #poem #haiku
#jhator #tibet #gaia #nature #blackeagles