What a Wonderful Bird Is the Pelican

The chain of dignified brown pelicans swoop down so low they skim the waves. They have a prideful look with their necks pulled back and their eyes looking downward over their long pointed beaks. They are hovering over a school of fish and effortlessly capturing hundreds of little fish by opening their jaws and dipping the water’s surface. Then they ripple in formation as if to mimic the tide. The wonder is that such a ridiculous looking bird can achieve gracefulness at all. On dry land they look as if their predacious beaks are too heavy for their neck muscles, their bellies too low slung to stay air borne.

Some of the pelicans dive from high above the water’s surface capturing a bill full of fish and spilling out the water on their ascent to the air. The pelicans hit the water with a splash, and then float. It’s an hour before dinner when they will be joined by hundreds of their own kind as well as terns, gulls and osprey. The tide will becomes dark with frenzied feasting.

I feel like the oddly shaped pelican. I scoop up bits of information, opinions, sights, sounds, aromas, and take in whatever comes my way. Then I begin to sort, keeping what makes sense to me and flushing out the useless and harmful bits.

I identify too with the unsuspecting minnows. They swim nestled in the comfort of their community until suddenly gulped into a dark mouth. I am sure I am an edible catch, not shell or seawater that will be spit out. There is no turning back, no way to escape. All I can do is wait for the throat to squeeze and swallow.