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free as a bird
Aug. 16th, 2006 01:09 pmWatch the bird land on the branch.
It looks about casually. That it is many meters above the ground is nothing to it. This is as a stroll on the lawn would be to us. There is no fear of falling. In the unlikely event it overbalances it simply spreads its wings, and with a gentle movement, regains its position. Watch as it fearlessly, carelessly launches itself into the void, lazily flaps a couple of times and lands on a precariously fragile twig. What if it should break? It doesn't care. With these wings it walks on the air.
It sees a fellow of its tribe high in another tree on the other side of the valley. Perfunctorily it drops off the thin branch, and with just enough flaps uses the breeze to slip silently, easily through the distance in an absurdly short time.
We would have to clamber dangerously down the tree, clump heavily though the long grass and shrubs, splash through the creek, awkwardly get between the barbed wires of the fence, cross the road (watching for cars), struggle through another fence, thud our way across a field, splash though another creek, scramble a little way up the hill, then laboriously climb the other tree. Careful! Don't fall. You are now out of breath.
Meanwhile the bird, beautiful, streamlined, is perched atop the tree, calmly, curiously watching the slow, inefficient, gasping progress of the poor creature below.
Now... who is master of Earth???
It looks about casually. That it is many meters above the ground is nothing to it. This is as a stroll on the lawn would be to us. There is no fear of falling. In the unlikely event it overbalances it simply spreads its wings, and with a gentle movement, regains its position. Watch as it fearlessly, carelessly launches itself into the void, lazily flaps a couple of times and lands on a precariously fragile twig. What if it should break? It doesn't care. With these wings it walks on the air.
It sees a fellow of its tribe high in another tree on the other side of the valley. Perfunctorily it drops off the thin branch, and with just enough flaps uses the breeze to slip silently, easily through the distance in an absurdly short time.
We would have to clamber dangerously down the tree, clump heavily though the long grass and shrubs, splash through the creek, awkwardly get between the barbed wires of the fence, cross the road (watching for cars), struggle through another fence, thud our way across a field, splash though another creek, scramble a little way up the hill, then laboriously climb the other tree. Careful! Don't fall. You are now out of breath.
Meanwhile the bird, beautiful, streamlined, is perched atop the tree, calmly, curiously watching the slow, inefficient, gasping progress of the poor creature below.
Now... who is master of Earth???