I have wondered if feathers fall mid-flight
If the bird notices and adjusts
If there is a change in drag and lift and weight and power
If the bird consciously lets go and releases this part of itself to the wind
Maybe even as a kind of offering?
What does a feather mean to a bird
Having it and not having it?
Maybe it is a reminder of how fragile is this gift of flight
How easily lost
How dependent on the lightest of things
On everything arranged just so
And so becomes an act of gratitude