After winter’s vacation, in Argentina,
they return each year as if by subpoena.
How do they do it, for ages it’s been asked,
how do little birds perform such a task?
But then these are not just any bird,
but the famous swallows of which you’ve heard.
As sure as the notes of an accomplished soprano,
they find their way back to San Juan Capistrano.
Leaving South America as if by a clock,
flying to California before they dock,
right on schedule on “St. Joseph’s Day”,
at San Juan’s mission Spring and Summer to stay.
The swallow’s flight takes some 7,000 miles,
and to dwell on that may bring some denials.
To catch air currents with the necessary flow,
altitudes are adjusted often to the most apropos.
Arrival at the old mission is quite an occasion,
as worldwide visitors celebrate the invasion.
Bells of the old church ring loudly for hours,
and a huge fiesta is replete with Spring flowers.
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