Cognisance

A gun will give you the body, not the bird. - Thoreau

down by the inlet

seagull perched atop a light post

head nervously pacing back and forth

up and down

trying to figure out what i am

a brief stopover

giving me the once-over

cleared for takeoff

he jets out

gliding over the water

calling back to me as he disappears out of sight

mew

keow

hahaha

it's all that i have today

it must be enough

it has to suffice

even if loneliness is the price

no need to tell me twice

Author's Note

"It would be well, perhaps, if we were to spend more of our days and nights without any obstruction between us and the celestial bodies, if the poet did not speak so much from under a roof, or the saint dwell there so long. Birds do not sing in caves, nor do doves cherish their innocence in dovecots." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

another fine member of your list of poems ... just a few minutes in ones life ... when our attention is demanded by something more sublime than our foolish hastening about thinking everything that "must be done" is the most important thing in that life ... to be grateful for the small things is health for the mind and heart and soul ... i think it is one of the best pathways to reach towards God our Creator .. i always enjoy your quotes from Thoreau as well .. tho i don't think i have mentioned it before ... its like .. do i shoot and have supper for the day .. or submerge myself in a certain beauty of the moment .. good stuff for me this morning .. thanks for sharing it
E.

[Pete]

it amazes me what the senses can discover when all the distracting, debris is swept away. we can become trapped in our own little worlds instead of the real one that is there waiting to be discovered, especially the seemingly mundane but that is where the good stuff is, just waiting for us. thoreau knew this better than anyone because he dared to step out and live it. we always have choices, what will we choose? thanks for sharing e. it always makes my day when someone "gets it" and can relate ... :)

[emmajoy]

' cleared for take off ~ he jets out ~ gliding over the water ~ calling back to me as he disappears out of sight ~ mew ~ keow ~ hahaha '

YES. yes, yes! . Tis how it is and so mesmerising to watch. Here the glide and dive, the sound and scene melding together so wonderfully. Methinks you've done what should be done at this time, find the calm and beautiful ~ it veils and dilutes the rest.. at least for a while. Beautiful reality, start to finish, Pete. Stay safe, please.

Your best friend and increasingly mine, has added yet more truths to the pot. A great quote.

[Pete]

wow. smiling. yes, he knew how to stir a hearty, healthy stew with only a few essential ingredients (both literally and figuratively). so glad to share this little jaunt with someone who appreciates the "true" finer things in life ... :)

[barleygirl]

I love this so much . . . I was transported to the realm of seagull rebuffs & the ensuing echoing aloneness. You bring this creature ALIVE with your feathery descriptions! Almost like I was inside the seagull's head! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Pete]

you can't make up this kind of stuff. that is exactly what happened, how i felt and how i imagined he felt... :)

[barleygirl]

Sometimes we just have to get out of the way & let the story tell itself, which is exactly what you did!

[Pete]

it's funny you say that. i was sitting there mulling over my troubles and i made a conscious decision to put everything out of my head and just focus on what was going on around me. as i always say, this is the best stuff of life ... :)

[barleygirl]

I love it! *smile*

[barleygirl]

Your poem inspired mine: "Sunrise, Sunset"

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I started thinking of The Birds....the other day I was in a Walmart parking lot and there were about 50 of them flying and swooping overhead...

I wondered what they were thinking, looking at me.
They were wondering what I was thinking, looking at them....
I guess all we had that day was each other.
j.

[Pete]

i can see that you definitely catch my drift. i encounter many of them as we are not far from the ocean. clever, fascinating birds they are ... :)

[Pete]

i first saw alfred hitchcock's 'the birds' when i was quite young and it scared the heck out of me ... :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and weren't the scariest parts just before the birds would attack? when they were gathering?
that freaked me out the most.

[Pete]

yes!! the anticipation. you just knew that they were coming again but didn't know exactly when or how awful the next attack would be. you could cut the tension with a knife ... :)

[John the Baptist]

So that's what those damned gulls were saying all these years. And here I thought it was gibberish.

[Pete]

it made my day because i let it. didn't you take seagull in school? i do wish i could talk them about leaving their gluey messes on my car. oh well, we can't have everything now can we ... :)