In Muir Woods: no greater love

Twin swirls of silver beauty
flash pleasurably in the pool below;
redwoods taller than buildings
open a soaring cylinder of sunlight
dappling the submerged salmon.

Not bears, nor humans nor cataracts
kept them from stranger's embrace
at this arboreal grotto altar
fulfilling ancient obligation
to the species, to perish contented.

At the natural end of their journeys,
their lives, their share in the cycle,
spawning hope for new life
as they spiral around each other
in graceful yin and yang.

She spews eggs, he yields milt
and within hours they will each
lie gasping for the last dregs
of lives fulfilled by sacrifice,
culminated in deadly happiness.

Now their tender bodies shall decay,
attract water bugs to lay eggs
which will hatch in turn
when the salmon brood emerges,
providing a crucial first meal and
the final farewell from their parents.