While walking on the beach
I saw two gulls on this rock.
One was standing and casting
its vision out over the sea.
The other seemed to settle down
as if to nest.
No, that cannot be, I thought.
This is a terrible place to raise a family.
Too exposed, too cold,
just too downright uncomfortable.
If the egg actually hatched,
how would the chick survive?
Sometimes they don't, I know,
but if she was going to nest,
why would she not go to the comfy trees
that were just behind us, where a neighborly
turkey vulture was waiting patiently
for the beach visitors to clear
before feasting on an expired
and well seasoned mola fish
that had washed ashore.
That is a whole other mystery.
I took a picture of the gull,
a photograph that will not improve
one little bit my reputation
as a photographer,
and we walked on.
However, she has stayed
in my mind and hopefully
on that rock if that is really
what she wants to do.
I have learned that gulls do indeed
prefer to nest out in the open
on rocks and exposed high ledges and such.
I think about her
and wonder if she is ok,
and goodness, what about
all this rain?
Couldn't we build her a tasteful little gull hideaway?
Okay, okay, I know
they like to live life out in the open,
But I swear if I knew someone
in that small beach town
I would call them and ask
if they could check on her,
maybe I could even pay
someone to keep watch,
but then again
this beach town has some
rather wealthy people
who probably do not need my
two cents worth, and anyway
there are a lot of gulls along the coast
(I almost wrote our coast,
but that seems presumptuous,
even tacky) so they seem
to have worked things out
and probably would prefer
just to be left alone to tend
to their own gull business.
So Holy One, you who care
for the whole ocean as if it is yours,
which, of course it is, thank you.
I know we humans have kind of
made a mess of things but we
do keep trying to stand upright
and walk on our own two feet,
just like we have been taught,
and to use our brains
for some good purpose.
I would appreciate
your tending
to this gull and her beloved
because now I have learned
that gulls mate for life,
not hiding under some small tacky tent,
but under your wide blue sky,
and if left to themselves,
can live a pretty long time.
Holy One, I am grateful,
which is a nice way to
start this year.
I want this poem
to have a happy ending,
but I will never know.
I do know you tend to things
in your own way which
is usually a mystery to us;
we are just not that far along
that we can even understand
that your happy ending
just might be different enough
from anything we can conjure up
just to keep ourselves comfortable
and death free.
I will say,
because I cannot help myself,
that I really liked that
turkey vulture, and I hope it was able
to dine in peace on the mola fish
which looks to be a curious
creature, alive or deceased.
What a neighborhood, Holy One.
What a blessing just to see a glimpse of it
as we walked by.
image: Stinson Beach, December 2025
