Tuesday, October 21, 2008

DOWN PILLOW

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leg of a lizard
claws of a dog

snagged like a fish
washed up with the trash

flies on its breast
wing feathered pillow


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8 comments:

Erik Olson said...

The Cormorant is my favorite sea bird, what a tragic end for such a graceful swimmer...

Patch said...

R.T.

The gemologist should be all over that, if he hasn't already.

That hook shoot tells a sad story...

pushingtide said...

Whoa. I was just going to make a post on my adventure yesterday. At the shore I found a seagull with a hook in his foot and the line was connected to his mouth. It tried to flop away from me and I struggled to hold it while I cut the line with my fins. It took off before I could get the hook out of its foot but at least I helped it fly off. Sad times.

R.T. said...

one of the things i find most interesting about the cormorant is the contrast between their flight and swimming. how much effort they have to put into flight... their wings beating so much faster than the speed at which they seem to be moving forward in the air. to watch them fly kind of warps time. while on the flipside, as you noted EHO, how effortless and graceful their swimming is.

ha! yeah Patch, i'm sure Gem would find a way to incorporate it into the tapestry of his rig! or even make back scratchers out of the legs and feet. for a few weeks there i was seeing him around different parts of town quite often. but the last time i talked to him he said he was fed up with the cops and was gonna head south of the border. i haven't seen him since. on that last meeting one of the rims of his bike trailer was missing a tire. i asked about it, he said it was no problem, that he was just gonna get some thick rope, wrap it around the rim as if a tire and cross-strap it down with something thinner.


damn Push, amazing how hard it can be to gain control of an animal, no matter how small, when the fear is in them. props to you for helping as much as you did!

i can remember my dad telling me, when i was a little kid learning how to fish, "A good fisherman doesn't need a barb on his hook."

Dr. Robert said...

regarding the birds in distress..
I've had a number of rescue actions over the years..the most amazing and instructive about 7 years ago with a
full grown pelican..

he had a 4'inch hook through his foot..and the fucking fishing line tight around his head..couldn't move..was dying of starvation..and most importantly..
lack of water.

The lack of water kills birds faster than anything else.

A friend was part of a Raptor rescue group and helped out..

the KEY..put a towel or some sort of fabric over their eyes..they will immediately settle down.

We did this, picked him up from behind,cut the line,pulled the hook with plyers, carried him about a quarter mile, and the pelican sat on my lap on the car ride to the shelter..quiet and calm..for a 40 mile trip.

an amazing experience...

he survived...thanks to my friends knowledge..
thanks for the reminder and maybe this will help out someone next time.

pushingtide said...

Awesome Dr.!

R.T. said...

40 miles is a long way with a big 'ol bird on your lap, must of been a trip. Salud!

Dr. Robert said...

r.t.
yes,it was fairly surreal.

we had wrapped him up in towels and he calmly sat on my lap..like a baby.

nice bird..

hope to see him again sometime and catch up.