Suburban Geese
They were Canada Geese,
and the goslings were near to full grown;
so the scene lacked the poignancy
of Make Way for Ducklings. Still,
an avian family crossing
is worth slowing down for.
I braked,
and watched the disorderly queue
set off across the road.
In my mind,
the kindly, portly officer
held up his hand,
and it stopped
my flow of thoughts.
I smiled
at the unexpected, extraordinary
ordinariness
about to cross my path.
Then the man in the car behind me
laid on his horn
in an extended
and ostentatious manner,
sending the geese
in a rush
back to the roadside.
There was nothing to do
but lift my foot from the brake
and make way for the impatient line
that had somehow,
inevitably,
formed
behind me.
Friday, June 12, 2009
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5 comments:
I love this one.
I love watching geese, and never mind braking for them to cross the street. People are so impatient! Thanks for the sweet image.
I had to brake for a pair of mallards in the next-door neighborhood a few weeks ago. They proceeded quite slowly and deliberately, and I knew the car behind me wondered why I'd stopped. Thankfully, no horn. When the ducks cleared the front of my vehicle and he could see them, I saw the frustrated driver behind me start to laugh. It was a happy ending to my experience.
The fuzzy goslings are adorable, aren't they?
Captures so well our society's inability (because of its impatience) to recognize "the unexpected, extraordinary ordinariness" that crosses our paths each day. Thank you!
Ann, jama, Kelly, Windspirit -- thanks so much for commenting!
I think my most vivid experience with geese came when I was a kid. We traveled each summer to Michigan's upper peninsula (aka the U.P.). Before we arrived at the rented cottage, we'd pick up some pasties (a U.P. food tradition) and stop at a road side park. There were Canada Geese there, and they were quite assertive. I still remember the wonder -- and a little fear -- I felt seeing them so close up as I fed them bits of pasty.
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