Walking
quickly from the parking lot between an office building
and the railroad tracks, I noticed something on the sidewalk
and stepped over it before its image fully formed in my
mind. A bird, or a bird wing, perhaps.
Stopped,
now, I turned and stared down at the small olive and black
creature Id just missed with one large foot. It
seemed motionless, at first, but then I bent over and
saw its small black eyes and tiny black needle of a beak
shivering ever so slightly. It was alive, and probably
still in shock from the heavy shadow that had just passed
over it in the morning light.
Remembering
injured birds held and petted as they lay still on their
backs in my hand, I squatted down and slowly picked this
one up, lifting it gently to about a foot above the concrete.
Now the bird revived and quickly flew off to shelter in
the adjacent bushes.