On Friday, I went on a boat ride with a homeschool nature group run by a birding friend, and we saw some of these Pink-backed Pelicans, today's bird on the Uganda version of the Birdtober calendar! We were all excited to see them. Also, did you know that pelicans feed their babies by bringing them fish in the pouch of their bills? There is a legend that in time of famine, pelican babies would pierce their mothers' breast and drink her blood. I wonder if this story came from people observing the babies feeding from the mother's bill. Sometimes, it was said, the mother pelican died as a result of giving her blood. The result of all of this birdwatching and telling confused stories about it was that early Christians used the pelican as a symbol for Jesus and His sacrifice. Before cameras and binoculars, many things people "knew" about birds were not true. (And even today, you can find sites like this, which tell you the "meanings" of seeing a pelican.) You might think that being able to read all about how birds behave based on scientific observation, and being able to observe them ourselves using high-powered binoculars would remove some of the magic, since we now know that pelicans don't give blood to their babies, for example. But not at all. The truth is every bit as fascinating and wonderful as the imaginary. People have always used birds to make metaphors, and I don't plan on stopping, but in this poem I decided not to.
Pink-backed Pelican
What do you symbolize,
enormous bird,
swimming by?
Could it be
that when you are born from a large white egg,
when you feed from your mother’s pouch,
when you struggle to get aloft but then glide effortlessly,
that none of it has anything whatsoever to do with me?
All my busy thoughts as I watch you
through my binoculars
from this green boat sailing in Lake Victoria
are mine and not yours.
Pink-backed Pelican
Not a symbol but a bird
Passes silently
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
1 comment:
I love your sentiment! We think we know, but what do we really know?
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