"Start anywhere, but begin." This discussion begins with those words, because it's otherwise so difficult to find a starting place for a message about buzzards and poetry.
I am an everyday poet. For several years, I have written a poem a day (on average). Poems are my diary, my therapy, and my primary creative outlet. You could say that poetry has become my vocation. I truly feel called to be in service to communication this way; in service to words. I also feel called to communicate about and to serve buzzards. That calling is entwined with my poetry.
Buzzards have changed my life. That happened with a small simple start--noticing one night where my town's buzzard population preferred to roost. Today, buzzards will start changing your life in a small simple way. After reading my words, if there are buzzards in your outdoor environment, you will be begin to notice them more. You will observe how graceful and beautiful they are in flight, notice where and when and how they appear, and realize the role they play in your life.
I have the great good fortune to have encountered and married an unusual person of Native American heritage. Ethan has helped increase my awareness and appreciation of all life, animals in particular. Each animal has lessons to teach, exemplified in their most distinctive characteristics.
Before exploring buzzard characteristics, I want to suggest you do a short visualization exercise:
Let your mind bring up an image of a buzzard that becomes so clear you can describe: how near you are to the image or how far away... whether you see the whole bird or just the head area or other parts... whether the image is more like a photo or a video or a sculpture or a living being. Next, think of the person you know who is most buzzard-like... doing that may take a minute, but someone will come to mind; just notice who that person is. Next, think of a job or occupation that seems buzzard-like to you... who does work that's similar to buzzard work? Now, one last thing, just for fun... visualize a buzzard nest... and then a buzzard egg. Okay, now... a buzzard baby... and finally, open your eyes.
Some of the images you visualized may make the rest of this information more interesting or more meaningful. So, let's discover more about buzzards together through my research and my poetry.
It's a whole 'nuther story how my poetry got started. But what daily poem writing does to a person is cause them to pay attention to what's going on inside their brain and outside in the world. Otherwise, all those thoughts and sensations just stream on by and get lost.
AERIAL SALUTE
Something happened;
it was nice—
something happened slow.
Some big buzzard
buzzed me thrice—
or three buzzed in a row.
About four years ago, this daily poet moved to Texas, with some interesting results. Compared to Arkansas, Texas seems to have much more sky. So, although there are buzzards all over Arkansas, I didn't really notice them till I got to Texas. One winter's evening, I happened to see a horde of buzzards collecting for the night in an ideal roosting spot: the pipe handrail that circled the town's water tower. For the buzzards, it provided a great lookout, foothold, and social setting.
COLLECTIVE SIGH
Crows gang up in
murders.
Buzzards congregate
in a collective
wake.
For both, it seems,
death is fun.
Every interaction with buzzards after that was more intense and precipitated more.
HAIL, FELLOW
Every day, a buzzard
comes into my view—
flying solo overhead
or swooping down, quite low,
or stationed in some untoward place.
It seems to say, “Hey, you!”
There’s nothing that I dread
or worry I should know.
I simply view it as a grace
and I reply, “Hey!” too.
One day, as I was driving home from a meeting, I saw a buzzard on the road ahead of me. It didn't fly off as my car got close. Surprisingly, it hopped away, apparently injured. As I pulled over, I realized a few unusual things. The elegant clothes I was wearing included a red winter cape I was reluctant to soil, but there happened to be a clean sheet in the trunk of my car (I had just used it to keep some food warm enroute to a meeting). Once I managed to cover the buzzard with the sheet, he calmed down completely and I took him home. He stayed in our bathtub while I made arrangements to take him to a vet.
RENDEZVOUS
Buzzard,
when you came to die—
somehow summoned,
there came I.
On the road as cars drove by,
you made no attempt to fly
till I slowed—
then you showed
your battered body,
broken wing.
Without protest,
you acquiesced
to all my role would bring:
the vet exam,
the verdict,
the needle in the vein.
Buzzard,
when you came to die—
you and I looked eye to eye.
Somehow, I don’t wonder why.
After that, my relationship with buzzards deepened. So did my research into their biology, history, and social stature. One key step in this journey accounts for why I am bringing this information to you today.
COACHING SESSION
“Depend upon your higher power,”
my guru/coach suggested.
“Assign one dream-goal upward.
Let your uptight self be rested.
Use intuition to set that goal.”
Well, that’s how I got flustered.
My inner-whisper told my soul—
“Go, ye. Speak of buzzards.”
Although my higher power's job is to bring a speaking event about, my part is to respond to impulses in this direction. Thankfully, I had recently made a list of things that people with an interest in buzzards might want to know.
BUZZARD INQUIRY LIST:
- How do they keep clean?
- Where are their nests?
- Why are they colored like that?
- Why are they so quiet?
- How much do they weigh?
- How long do they live?
- How many of them are there?
- What kinds are there?
- Is there a difference between a buzzard and a vulture?
- How are they different from other birds; how the same?
- Do they only eat dead animals?
- How do they find their food?
- Do they live in groups?
- What do their babies look like?
- Are they protected by law?
- Where do they live; are they all over the world?
- Do they fly in all kinds of weather?
- Do they have enemies?
- Do they migrate?
- Why are some called "turkey" vultures?
- Are they mean? shy?
- Do they fight among themselves?
- What other birds are they most like?
- What are some myths about them that are incorrect?
- Are there any famous buzzards in history, literature, or the general culture?
(poems, legends, cartoons, movies, etc.) - Are all buzzards dark in color?
- Do most buzzards live in the desert?
- What do buzzard eggs look like?
- How big are they?
- Are babies hatched all year around?
- How do buzzards die?
- What are they most susceptible to?
- Where can I see a living buzzard up close?
- Are buzzards and hawks in competition?
- What should I do if I find an injured buzzard?
- Where can I find good information about buzzards?
- Where do buzzards go at night?
- Where do buzzards go when it rains or snows?
- How do they fly/float/glide/soar like they do?
- How do they hunt or find food?
- How well can they smell? see? taste?
- Are they monogamous?
- Who raises the babies? both parents?
People who say, “What could I possibly learn from a buzzard?” are likely to be people who say, “What could I possibly learn from a child, or a bug, or a cloud?” The answer for them would be, “Not much!” Fortunately, there are not overwhelming numbers of these people.
BUZZARDS
“Unclean!” they’re seen—
“Untouchable!
Gnarly-headed grotesques. Fearsome
underlings. Awful offal-eaters.
Horrid things on wings!”
Of this, buzzards are oblivious—
as they are of praise from students of their ways,
who say, “It’s official.
Buzzards are good to us. Beneficial.”
They recycle and renew.
Like morticians, beauticians, mothers,
menials, and multitudes of others
(maintenance workers, trash collectors,
hazardous waste operators, plumbers,
and sanitation crews, to name a few)—
discretely and with daily diligence,
they efface life’s ugliness.
They lift in air like dreams.
For those with eyes to see—
such elegance, such grace!
* * *
