Thursday, August 24, 2006

Plumage

I walk every morning. As I bow, everyone applaud. Thank you very much. (I hurt my shoulder patting myself on the back.)

Since I take the same route each day, I look around to keep myself occupied because exercise just doesn’t thrill me and make me all gooey like it does other people. I do it for my health. I do it for my sanity. I do it to keep the oxygen flowing to the little gray cells.

I noticed lately that there are an abundance of gray pigeon feathers on the ground. They are on both sides of the street, on the sidewalks, in the grass and stuck in bushes. This is not normal.

I picked one up to examine it more closely and heard my mother’s voice tell me not to play with the dirty, disease ridden thing. Being the brat that I have always been, I stroked it from point to tip then wiped my face. I have not died, mom.

The feather reminded me of a morning winter sky, bluish gray but soft and tranquil, promising a downy drift of snow. The shaft supported barbs that fit together so perfectly that the vanes felt like cashmere. I held the small wonder in my left hand as I thought about the possible meanings of this plethora of pinions.

Then Cody interrupted my reverie by taking a dump. Being the good neighbor that I am, I scooped the poop into a plastic grocery bag (I reuse and recycle, more applause, please.) After concentrating on not getting any stuff on me, I realized I totally mangled the plume. I threw it to the ground in disgust.

Feathers mean flight, freedom and fancy, maybe not to the birds that lost them, but to me that’s what they mean. In American Indian lore and dream interpretation, feathers mean prosperity and success. An era of lightheartedness, ease and comfort fast approaches.

22 comments:

  1. And somewhere their are a lot of little, naked pigeons who don't feel so lucky ....

    Seriously -- I found several pigeon feathers in my driveway the other day. I just thought a neighborhood cat had squab for dinner. Now I am wondering .... Are you certain they are pigeon feathers? Maybe it is angel molting season?

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's the little things like this, that make my day. Thanks for sharing this. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Went to a pow wow in Connecticut yesterday. Now lets speak of feathers! So colorful and bright. Hope to to able to post a picture. Not sure if I was able to capture the beauty on my old camera. "Hope" springs eternal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Quilly: At first I thought of cats, too, but we live in a dog neighborhood, and the feathers were one here, one there, not in a clump the way cats do it. Why I didn’t think of Angels is beyond me, since I have a couple looking out for me. I must be stressing nthem out with all of my whining. I’ll have to apologize.

    Dabich: Thanks. Glad you enjoyed.

    Pauline: I’d love to see pictures. We have a big Powhaten Renape Festival coming up Columbus weekend that we will be attending.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So that's where my feathers went! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Some of my best pets were birds. I couldn't stand getting their wings clipped, so I stopped. It was hard as hell to get them back in their cages, but since I treated them right, they'd just come and go as they pleased.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Nessa!
    It's Saturday,
    so today I have a gift 4U
    a little piece of Peace
    jam movie
    Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  8. somewhere out there is a pigeon bloodbath.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A lovely story--well, except for the Cody part, that is. ;-) And I applaud you. I'm not keen on exercise either, and I so wish I had your dedication to doing it anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can you read tea leaves?
    I don't know alot about indian dream lore but my gramma used to read our tea leaves and I always thought that was very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jenn: Do you need them back or are you trying to tell me something?

    Grunty: Where we used to live, the people behind us had big birds that they put out on the back porch each Sunday morning (very early.) Everyone hated the noise they made, but somehow I found them comforting.

    Q: That was fun. Thanks.

    Guggs: I looked, didn’t find one. I think I live in a pigeon nudist colony.

    Caryn: It’s the only health related thing I can seem to manage so I’m holding on for dear life.

    Mr. Fab: Every wise person will tell you that without a clean colon, the rest of the body ain’t shit.

    Logo: I do not read tea leaves, but I do read Tarot. All of which are just ways of tapping into our Jungian collective consciousness and our own subconcious.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Prosperity and success indeed! A daily walk is good for the body and the soul, and the feathers are a good omen.

    -- david

    ReplyDelete
  13. No, no....I didn't realise I was moulting when flying over your part of the world to check up on you.

    Please, by all means, keep them, with my love.

    ReplyDelete
  14. *Feathers mean flight, freedom and fancy,*(

    well put..indeed they do...freedom!

    ReplyDelete
  15. from my observations of city traffic, one truck + one pigeon = several blocks coated in feathers.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You know Nessa, I just thought of Emily Dickinson. Maybe what you saw was hope.

    After all,

    Hope is the thing with feathers...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Feathers may mean prosperity and success, but pigeon feathers can only mean those filthy disgusting horrible creatures are nearby, and that can ONLY be a bad thing.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think the world did end. If it were still turning I am certain you would have posted.

    ReplyDelete
  19. hey nessa
    nice morning peaceful feel to this post. trasported me to a dewy place.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nessa? Everything OK?

    Don't be a stranger, now...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nessa? Yoohoo? We're starting to worry here.

    ReplyDelete