Community Ethic

image by alex shapiro

Community Ethic

It was 11:30 in the August evening.
As I worked at my desk,
the power suddenly went out.
Electricity wasn’t restored
until late the next day.

From my deck at twilight,
I gazed an acre out to the distance.
A lone, adult gull hung lifelessly
from the electrical wires.

Throughout the late summer,
hundreds of blackbirds migrated
to this spot on San Juan Island,
favoring these wires for an excellent
perch perspective above the sea.
Their busy chatter was incessant and lively.
I loved the sound in the distance.

For weeks, the little blackbirds lined up
all around the gull, unperturbed
by its decomposing corpse
as they got on with their daily routine.

I wonder about humanity.
I wonder about the animal world.
I wonder about the meaning of community,
and inter-connectedness, for us all.
And if you’re reading this,
I want you to wonder, too.

Alex Shapiro

Posted over on her site Notes From the Kelp