How They Fly

Doves appear like an apparition

Gulls fly
mostly in pairs,
silently in straight lines,
generally going somewhere
away from the bay.

Dragonflies fly
mostly in tight, precise
robotic squares
low below
the tree tops
where fewer birds
can detect them.

Eagle in flight, photo by Geo Hoyem.

Wild parrots,
at least the ones around here,
fly in raucous flocks
of indiscriminate numbers,
flying with abandon
to who knows where.

Crows, it's hard to know
what the hell they're up to,
loud renegades 
flying off together, 
just as frequently 
one flying off by itself,
clearly guilty
of something.

Doves just appear,
like an apparition
from another dimension,
quietly finding 
a random perch,
atop a utility pole
or the point of a roof,
cooing for a companion
who generally is not far away,
they like hanging in pairs
and don't seem to care
who else is around.

Hummingbirds fly
with messages 
from the other side
straight up and down
as much as 
forward and backward
and hover in one place
as much as they do
anything else.

Eagles,
so majestic and resilient,
soar sacredly above us all
and fly however they want!

My imagination flies
like an overinflated balloon,
untied and released
directionless out into the world,
and I'm always eager
to see where it lands.