A V-less Goose, a Plaintive Valentine's Day Story

Every morning I walk my dog, keeping an eye on the sky, the clouds, the rising sun, birds flying over. This morning there was a lone goose circling above our neighborhood and the fields behind. Flapping wings frantically, calling continuously, circling and circling. This was not the strong yet graceful flight of a goose traveling with its wedge-mates, this was desperation. We'd recently had a strong windstorm, was the goose separated from its flock by the wind, did it tire and fall behind? I watched as two wedges flew over but these were not the ones, I so wanted them to be. I lost sight of the goose for a bit, hoping that it had found what it was seeking. Then turned the corner and there it was, in the middle of our pond, resting from its flight but not quiet. It maintained its position in the middle of the pond turning 360 degrees over and over. Calling over and over to the four directions, the sound echoing from the neighboring houses, but no answering call.
I am content in my solitude, happy for the peace I find in my own company, but this goose brought me to tears, how alone, how needful, how desolate.