#4: The Absorbent Entry

I am alone in this… at least except for my Dad whom I am not sure (and he is not sure either I think) remembers seeing the same sight. 

We had pigeons for pets for around three years or so. I was still in elementary then so I still had a lot of time to spare just playing with an assortment of left-over toy pieces, knitting childish stories. When we had pigeons, it became a option to just stare at them, eavesdrop on their unintelligible conversations and even watch them get kinky, err, I mean, procreate.

But there is this one x-file-ish thing I repeatedly witnessed. Whenever a fly landed on our pigeon's smooth, feathered back, or neck, the fly just… gets absorbed. Literally. Or at least that is how it looked. The fly, after a few seconds, seemed to get sucked into the forest of micro-feathers and POOF! it's gone. I'm dead sure the fly didn't fly. If there was one fly annoyingly buzzing around, then perched on our pigeon, then flew again, the conclusion should be, the fly would still be annoyingly buzzing around me. But after it touches down on the pigeon, it disappears! No more fly flying around me, it should have disappeared. I mean where else will it go?

My theory is, the pigeon probably knows there is a fly on its back and with precision control of its skin, the pigeon will pull down and trap the fly under its feathers so it can snack on the insect later. I thought so because after a while, I'd  see the bird nibbling on its back. That is as scientific as I can get.

I didn't see that just once. I saw that over and over again, and my 9-year-old eyes always widened in wonder. I am already 24 and still haven't found an actual answer or even just someone who is as freaked out as me. I asked veterinarians and fellow pigeon owners but to no avail. These vets probably only know the hundreds of species there are, the different illnesses they can get, the numerous bones and ligaments in their body, but they will not know why a fly gets absorbed into a pigeons body.

Poor me.

October 12, 2005

Absorb me

I cannot smell you enough

I cannot feel you enough

Absorb me

I cannot hold you tight enough

I cannot hold you close enough

Absorb me

So I can run in your blood

So I can smile as your sweat

Absorb me

Let me grow with your hair

Let me flow with your tears

Absorb me
To find my cradle in your mind

And find yours also in mine

101205 11:50am