In times like this, when it feels like there is no hope, in both my personal life and in politics, birds really help me to find a sense of balance again. Today, I went to walk in a place on a lake near my house. There was all kinds of birds: black-headed and lesser black-backed gulls, tons of bluethroats, penduline tits, three different species of wagtails, white, yellow and citrine, marsh harriers, and so on. At the end, I even got lucky with a redshank and a little ringed plover.
It is uncertain what new awful things will happen where I live by the next year. I remember how I greeted this year; together with my girlfriend, in a new city, heavy snowfall and church bells, and people laughing outside the window. It was just us, and I felt so hopeful. Now, this was five months ago, and many things have changed for the worse. At least, I still have her, even if she's far away. Even video calls are made difficult now.
But today, I saw a lot of birds. I almost wonder, why would they want to come here, of all places in the world? Here, where cruelty and corruption reign? In their place, blessed with the power of flight, I would have left.
Of course, to birds our human matters are insignificant, they are beyond our stupid laws. To them, it is a beautiful plentiful land, where the waves on our many lakes, the remnants of an ancient ocean, are strong, where the mountains older than their kind hide many precious gems, where the dark pine forests are vast and never ending.
A beautiful land, indeed. One I would never want to leave, in a kinder world.
Today, I saw a lot of birds. I think of their lost relatives that once called this Earth home and enjoyed her bounty. Magnificent, strong animals, reduced to nothing in a single day. But today, today I saw a lot of birds. Small, inconspicuous birds; your feet are shaped like your giant cousins, you gaits are the same, your feathers bear the same patters as theirs once did. They are gone, but you are still here, basking in the sun on the lake near my home. The last of your lost kind, survivors of the End of the world.
If you endured that, and came back stronger, more plentiful, more diverse than ever... Maybe, just maybe, so can I.
annaxmalina
kaledo-art
pixelskylines
gummygunk
