by [email protected]
I guess this time it was nature and not man who did
this. I walked in through
my gate at home and went in to my house. A short time later, I went back
out
with my Pooper Scooper to clean up after my dog. Tomorrow is trash day,
so I
wanted to collect the last deposits. I scanned the ground and picked up
the
poop. Then I stopped. I saw two little things on the cement that I
hadn't seen
just a short time earlier. I had to lean in to see what they were -- the
bodies of
two baby birds. They were almost transparent and I could see that no
organs
were beating or moving, but for a moment, in the wind, I thought one of
them
was still breathing. It was just a sad wind and nothing more.
I fretted as tears welled up in my eyes. I looked above
to the roof area for a nest
but there was none. I walked outside the fence and realized there was a
giant
tree off of the other side of the roof, and determined that they must
have fallen
out of a nest in that tree and blown over with the wind. Meanwhile, I
noticed a
bird on the fence. It was agitated and seemed unsure of just what to do.
With
a lump in my heart, I gathered that this must be the mother of these two
sweet
babies. The mother was watching me as I approached her beloved
creatures.
I had to think quickly as it was a hot day, and I felt
like the heat would just make
it worse. I had to grant these precious creatures the dignity they
deserved, and
do likewise for the mother who bore them. I ran inside and found a tiny
box about
the size of a pack of cigarettes. I took the box outside and placed the
two little
angels inside. I wrapped the box with a paper bag. I knew as I live in
an urban
area, I had no real choice but to put them in the trash can, even though
they
were NOT trash. I have no place to bury them. I then thought of what I
could
do to celebrate their short lives. I saw a dry flower collection that I
have and
took the best piece of it and tied it loosely around the bag. I did have
to place
the tiny memorial in the city trash can, but they had a memorial, and
their
mother got to see that someone besides her loved them. The mother flew
off,
and it has only been a few hours, but I haven't heard the cries I heard
earlier.
For a change, it was nature that took its course. It was
a sad and tragic loss.
However, these two angels knew that they had love from not only their
mother,
but from mankind as well.
Go on to Prayer of a Stray
Return to 13 June 1999 Issue
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