“I’m hoping to be astonished tomorrow
by I don’t know what.”
– Jim Harrison
I, for one, woke up this morning amazed I was not a seagull. Not some Kafkaesque nightmare, because how cool would it be to be a seagull? Tooling around in the sky over the beach, dive bombing fish, surrounding picnickers for a reprise of “The Birds.” Plus that satisfying smack! when a clam hits the rocks from 200 feet. People pay good money for raw cherrystones.
Sure, there was other stuff I was amazed at too. Like how no matter how hard I tried, when I lay face down in the grass inhaling through my nose, I just couldn’t tell the difference between one tuft of sod and another two feet apart. My dog scoffed at my ineptitude, since it is soooo obvious. One sward is clearly correct for business, the other is not.
But back to being a seagull. The flinty Yankee in me (I lived in Boston for 30+ years, so made rank) thinks I should stick the winters out around the Cape and Islands, but so damn cold. Better maybe to head south. A good life picking Mexican out of dumpsters in Cabo.
No picnic, this bird
I too, scavenger of scraps –
Cheetos for fool’s gold
qbit 
The whole seagull/ Kafka thing is great until you get to the sod and it is even better! This is astonishingly terrific and the Haiku just tops it all off. One small problem that I see… gulls don’t migrate. That could be an issue.
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Crapstack! Nooo! I need my seagull picking trash in a Mexican resort!
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Arrgh!
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Ok. Delete my comment and I’ll give another try.
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No! It’s fine. Maybe one of my gull-abilities is the poetic license to migrate?
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No, my mistake. There are a couple of species who still migrate. Most stick around because we make it too easy. Either way, it wasn’t meant as a critique, more a stab at humor as I thought of your gull donning a hat and jacket and stepping up to the ticket counter at the airport. 🙂
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LOLOL! I was just bummed I’d botched Seagull Facts to Know and to Tell.
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The idea couched in this poem drove me bugsy. Seagull? Not for me. But a wonderfully, wickedly surreal haibun ala Franz! I’m almost certain no one else will approach this same prompt from the air in the same hovering, squawking way.
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Hahaha! Let’s certainly hope not! Clam smack!
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I was slow on “bugsy”. Fantastic.
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🙂
I have been know to sneak a couple over the plate.
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I love seagulls and have seen them scavenge plates of prawns right from under the noses of patrons at a seaside restaurant.
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Yes!
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Your poetry makes me smile! This is excellent!
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Thanks so much!
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So many things to consider when being a seagull…a good write!
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LOLOL! Thanks!
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Love your raw gritty narrative – is that also what ranks you as a Yankee? The turf sniffing took my breath away!
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LOLOL! Thanks so much. I know that was all a bit much, appreciate folks putting up with me.
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This is great. It makes me want to write a new haibun. It’s been a while. Oh and you taught me a new word, ‘sward’
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Thanks!! Look forward to your Haibun if/when!
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My dogs don’t get it either. I wonder if a seagull has an enhanced sense of smell? Love this!
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LOL! Thanks!
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