“Now my son. It is time you learned the ways of the sea.”

“Ways of the sea? What do you mean Papa?”

“Soon you will be a man and the duty of providing for your family will fall to you.”

“I don’t have a family except for you, Mama, and sister.”

“There will be a time when you will take a spouse, my son.”

“That is a long way off I hope.”

“Yet that time will come. And then you will have children.”

“Wait, Papa. I don’t want to rush into anything.”

“Just so you are prepared to be able to provide for them it is time we begin your lessons of the sea.”

“Can we hurry. I have a baseball game this afternoon.”

“The first lesson is very brief, my son.”

“Are you sure we need to begin this future life thingy now?”

“The mysteries of the sea will take years to learn. There is no time like the present to begin.”

“Very well, Papa. I will try to do my best. What is the first lesson?”

“Now you make me very proud, my son. My heart is bursting with my love for you.”

“Thank you, Papa. What do I need to know first?”

“See the water, my son. It is filled with millions of fishes and other good things to eat. If you know its ways, you can live a fine life from its bounty.”

“I love to eat fish, Papa.”

“So here is the first thing you need to know.”

“You have my attention.”

“Take this, my son.”

“Your phone Papa?”

“Yes. Dial 210-555-5555.”

“Okay now what?”

“Tell them this is a pickup for four orders of the deep-fried fish and chips with cole slaw.”

I took a picture of you,

Standing in the sea,

the water lapping at your feet,

as you smiled up at me.

Those days were simply perfect,

Though we didn’t know it then,

That life, as often happens,

Would change and change again.

Not long after the picture was taken,

I said farewell to you,

I watched you sail from my life

I cried for a week or two.

That seems a lifetime ago,

In many ways it was,

Our lives have drifted far apart,

And I’m to blame, because,

I left those words unspoken,

I didn’t tell you how I felt,

And that’s why our lives were broken

By the bitter hand, fate dealt.

Each and every day I wander,

By the water’s edge, I lurk,

Gazing at the sea that took you

Into the darkness and the murk.

It’s here I took a picture of you,

Standing in that sea,

How I wish that here and now,

You were smiling next to me.

I know that you’re trying to portray
This scene at the fag end of day
But I think that you might
Want what’s left of the light
So make haste, let’s have no more delay

The tide’s coming in rather fast
This photo may well be your last
Set me back on dry land
Plant my feet in the sand
Ere the beauteous moment has passed.

The sun is now sinking apace
It’s so dark you can scarce see my face
There will only, quite soon,
Be the weak light of moon
To attempt to illumine to the place.

It is forecast that in this locality
The moon will eclipse in totality
If it’s as I recall,
You won’t see me at all
Does your phone offer flash functionality?

“so you are telling me to soar above this crowd and make them ooh and ah?”

“Exactly.”

“You know its easy for you to give orders. You just stand there with your bah of heaven knows what and boss me around.”

“What do you mean ‘heaven knows what’? There are prime mouse pieces I give you.”

“Yeah, well it would be nice if they didn’t sit in the fridge so long.”

“You think I’m going to run out and get you a fresh mouse before every performance?”

“No, I wouldn’t expect you to do that. Just cut me loose, and I’ll bring back a nice fresh mouse for myself.”

“That will never happen. You would be gone in a heartbeat.”

“You don’t trust me?”

“How did you guess.”

“Okay, so that one time I got lost in the fog.”

“There was no fog.”

“Heavy rain?”

“Clear as a bell. You were making a run for it.”

“Till your thugs caught up with me.”

“Might I remind you of one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“You were sick and undernourished, and you’re lucky we brought you back.”

“I remember it differently. I’m oppressed.”

“Please. What is this all about anyway? You are acting like a petulant child.”

“I was looking at that animal show.”

“You were watching TV again?”

“Couldn’t help it. That thug guard left it on.”

“Your handler you mean?”

“Your words not mine. Anyway, there was this beautiful falcon flying in the robin’s egg blue sky free as a bird, so to speak.”

“And that’s what you would like to do?”

“Yes. I would also like to poop on this crowd but know I’ll get detention.”

“And rightfully so. What about your food and medical care?”

“I’ll find my own.”

“Like you did before?”

“Um.”

“Why not just do the show, and I’ll get you some nice turkey meat to eat.”

“Can I have an apple with that?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. Let’s get this over.”

“Don’t drag your talons through anyone’s hair.”

“Man you know how to suck the joy out of life.”

Falconry and bird displays,

a remnant of those chivalry days,

when Knights behaved with courtly ways

So sad those days have gone.

An owl gazed longingly from his cage,

 fragile in health, yet full of rage,

perhaps these fragments of a bygone age

are better left bygone?

As time forever marches on.

An Eagle Owl known here as Duffy
Had ear-tufts at once long and fluffy,
He’d to any trick
For a morsel of chick;
Forget it, and he got quite huffy.

For treats, he’d go where e’er he’s led
As long as he’s properly fed,
But who knew the reason
In his breeding season
He’d mate with the falconer’s head.

As if on a definite cue-in
Some kid would shout, “Hey, what’s he doin’?”
But the handler played dumb
And replied, “Ask your Mum”
As another display falcon flew in.

You think that the falcon was easy?
He’d be gone if the weather was breezy
And the falcon’s religion
Involved hunting pigeon
Which always made some people queasy.

Now, if it should fancy its luck
And choose to hunt down a duck,
Somebody would shout,
“Go stop it, you lout.”
Its trainer’s reply? “Will I heck!”