Painting by Lyne Masamitsu
The Fight or Flight Response
Years ago, in Spokane, a woman saved
a family of orphaned baby geese.
An amateur ornithologist, she raised
those birds into adulthood, and then
released
Them into the pond at Manito Park,
where a dozen swans, elegant and white,
tore the tame geese open and ate their
hearts. Of course, all of this was
broadcast live
On the local news. Eyewitnesses wept.
My mother and I shrugged, not at death,
but at those innocent folks who believe
that birds don't murder, rape, and steal.
Like us, swans can be jealous and dangerous,
and oh, so lovely, sure, and monogamous.
Sherman Alexie
from his book FACE.
2 comments:
brilliant, as always.
This reminds me of the local swans who bat the turtles out of way as little kids feed them breadcrumbs.
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