this is the story of two eyes opening
and then closing again
just like two flapping wings
that up down
expand retract
motion
is needed
if what you are seeking is
to take flight
and speaking of wings
here’s a bird we found in front of our door last week
Le Boyfriend named him Andrés, but the day after he went by el Pepe.
So el Pepe it was.
We were worried because we could see he was unable to fly.
He would flap his wings, barely leaving the ground.
He was scared and seeked a covered and safe place
between our entry porch and some plants.
I left some sunflower seeds on a plate
because I worried he could starve to death.
We couldn’t find the nest.
The next morning we got up looking for him.
El Pepe was nowhere to be found. A couple hours later we saw him in our back yard.
He seemed fine but still wasn’t able to fly.
We worried again and knew we couldn’t touch it because someone had told us his parents would reject him if he smelled of us / or any other human.
Le Boyfriend called WildLife Rescue & two different vet hospitals. Everyone seemed to be surprised by two strangers caring so much for a baby bird.
Is he lost?
Is he injured?
we are no experts on the subject but one nice guy from WildLife Rescue told him it is normal to find birds on this stage. They’re learning to fly. Apparently it can take up to 72 hours after the leave the nest until they’re able to do what birds do best: fly and chirp.
we would encourage the baby bird “flyyyy, fly el Pepe, come on baby bird”.
but the baby bird could only get one or two meters high before he dropped back to the ground.
During these days we wouldn’t let Le Dawg out, because, here’s the thing: her name is Wolf. And she acts like one when she encounters another animal, bigger or smaller, she no care.
she attacc,
she protecc,
she grab a snacc.
& we don’t want el Pepe to become a snacc, we want el Pepe to fly.
We were rooting for him.
-actually maybe it was a she, pls don’t cancel me-.
Next thing was, as we were told by the WildLife Rescue nice hooman, the baby bird el Pepe’s parents would come and visit, make sure their baby was okay.
These visits went on for a couple of days. “el Pepe, it’s time to fly brother, days are passing, you need to make a move, darling.” We rejoiced with the family pic, it made us feel whole. As if they were just a mirror of ours.
Everything was fine and good and safe. We were keeping baby bird el Pepe safe in our back yard, against Le Dawg wishes.
Saturday morning we woke up excited to check on our little friend. He wasn’t there.
So I got a little bit excited. “Yes, el Pepe found his way, spread his wings, and is now overflying our house, cheerfully and freely.”
Only to hear Le Boyfriend entering the house from the garden and warning me “Don’t get mad, baby.” I immediately knew: el Pepe was dead.
“He’s dead, I’ve found a little wing, a ton of feathers and… his head, right there.” pointing to the middle of our garden.
I couldn’t react. I went straight back to the day my father told me Opa (my grandpa) had died. I asked him to guide me to the remains of el Pepe’s body.
“Maybe it was a cat, we’ve seen cats around here and they love birds”. Le Boyfriend tried to console me.
I nodded.
Le Boyfriend flew to New York hours after el Pepe’s death.
Next day, el Pepe’s mother dropped by to check on her baby, singing and patiently waiting. I cried for a straight hour.
I took a picture and sent it to Le Boyfriend.
it’s funny & awful how sad and hopeless el Pepe’s death left me.
when the evening prior to his death I was munching on half a chicken while drinking wine and laughing, unbothered.
and I’ve been thinking about it since.
how hypocritical of me. crying over el Pepe’s death.
that’s how we are.
full of contradictions.
fueled by inconsistencies.
and I’m still wondering.
How does one get to fly?
how does one turn a body light?
dropping the weight.
well, Ale,
the fastest way is to die.
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