The Albatross

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It was a rainy morning

good for doing chores

and then after 

I suggested that we detour 

out to the bluff

on Princeville

to see the albatrosses

 

the birds nest in the front yards

of residences on the cliff edge

There appeared to be a pair of birds

on most front lawns

  

and then we noticed

a brown ball of fluff

 

doing a 

little preening

alongside Mum

 

baby has a look 

of BIG BIRD

about him

 

You must keep your distance

so the birds are not disturbed

 

so baby did not notice me

watching him

 

as we drove away

we stopped to watch 

another two parents

do you see 

this bird has been tagged

 

the adults wandered off

through the hedge

and made a beautiful whistle call,

and when I asked Beloved

to back up a metre

 

I saw who they had alerted....

*

To thee, thou Wedding-Guest !
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast. 

Farewell, farewell ! but this I tell

He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

from

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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