Birds

Recently, while driving I saw seagulls and crows in a parking lot. Both are scavengers and seem to hang out in parking lots or just anywhere they can find food. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen them together though. Most people might just say “oh” and continue on their way. Its nothing special I suppose, but here is what I saw, this is where my mind took me.

It was a cloudy day, light rain, cold and sleepy. A single beam of sunlight broke through the clouds. The sky seem more dramatic, it was beautiful and peaceful. Circling the parking lot were birds, seagulls. They floated gracefully through the air and the sight of them brought my mind to images of the ocean and the peaceful sound of the waves. The seagull landed and quickly found a piece of food, it attempted to retrieve the food but was stopped by a crow. The intimidating black bird was a contrast to the peaceful day. The sight of the crow brought my mind to images of death and graveyards. Crows seem so ominous and sometimes threatening. The two birds fought and so began a war in my mind. Light and darkness, the peaceful ocean breeze vs. the sadness of death. The weather was warm, yet the wind was cold and it had been raining. The sky was cloudy, yet sunlight shone through brightly. Opposing forces clashed trying to take back the day, one fought for the peacefulness of a spring day, the other trying to bring a storm of thunder and lighting. The birds fought as if fighting over the end of the world. More crows and seagulls circled overhead, crying out and cheering on their comrade.

The drama of the scene ended abruptly as a car drove by scaring away all the birds. My mind was forced back into reality. The weather was a little strange, but it was just the change from winter to spring. The sunlight breaking through the clouds was just from the clouds shifting and letting sunlight through and the battle of light versus darkness was nothing more than two scavenger birds fighting over bread crumbs. All of this played out in my head in seconds, I reached my turn, took a right and as I drove away the parking lot and the imaginary battle disappeared from sight. It was another normal cloudy day, but for a second the world seemed a whole lot more exciting.