Thought I would route this to One Shot Wednesday for a little love...enjoy! And check out some great writing while you're in the One Stop neighborhood.
The Precocious Pelican
By Lemuel Crouse
As I sat looking out on a slate-gray sea,
A precocious pelican swooped from the sky
And lazily glided in front of me
Until a fine fish caught his eye.
At once he dove in headlong manner,
Splashing down noisily amongst the waves.
Then floating proudly, a wind-tossed banner,
A nod of the head to me he gave.
With tipping beak and gulping throat,
He slickly swallowed his salty snack.
Then, flapping his wings, the water he smote,
And my pelican flew off without looking back.
To be a bird like he I sometimes wish,
To have a home upon some marshy shore,
With naught to do but fly and swim and fish,
And be a haunted human, nevermore.
(Photo courtesy of me, taken in Charleston Harbor, March 2010)
14 comments:
Beautiful, strong poem. One gets a sense of the wonder and power of nature, but one also finds poignant reflections of humanity and metaphors on our condition. "A haunted human"...what an breathtaking use of words.
Dear L.C.
Oh, amen.
T. Ann
oh i feel this one at times...to have only base desires and needs...to eat and live...and sometimes to fly...nice one shot!
Very nice. I'm sure we all entertain flights of fancy at times.
very nice love play between being a human and a bird...the want to melt into nature....and become it...great one shot..bkm
This was so descriptive it was like I was watching the pelican myself. I sometimes wonder if birds and other creatures have problems in their lives that cause them sleepless nights...
I watch them nearly every day. You painted their behavior very well and yet I also understood the metaphor you were using. The beauty of a bird that very nearly became extinct lives perhaps to haunt humans and remind them that life is very fragile.
When I go to the shore I watch the pelicans for hours. They are a big bird but they sure have the dive down to a graceful maneuver
so nicely put my friend with many names
Glad you shared with One Shot
Moon smiles
I grew up with pelicans - the state bird - and I've watched them do exactly what you describe. Nice one. (And I, too, am a dislocated Southerner who dragged my wife to the Midwest.)
As people, we're prone to live beyond necessity. The "nevermore" at the end is a great allusion both in the context of your imagery and poetry itself. Wonderful poem.
I've sometimes thought about being an animal - but, despite all the wondrous freedoms they enjoy, I always decide that there are just too many things I enjoy about being a human.
(Yes, even a haunted one)
Nice One Shot!
bird... I guess that the animal we allhave some time dreamt of being...
Beautiful words
and ic!
;)
a wonderful poem....to be a bird would be a wondrous adventure but i would also miss the things i love as a human..perhaps its the getting away from it all without just simple means that appeals..cheers pete
Wonderful imagery. I love the desire to be a free-flying bird. They certainly are beautiful creatures!
Teresa
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