A FEW DAYS IN SUNNY SPAIN...
Hello beasties!
This time I'm going to share with you some photos from my recent trip to Madrid. Not only that but I have a new short piece to share that I wrote whilst out in Spain, inspired by my trip to Madrid Zoo.
Here are the photos...
There are more photos from the trip - some of them are in Instagram and I may have room for them here on a future blog, but I already have photos and something new from a recent trip to Amsterdam!
Next time, well - I think Amsterdam is where we'll be, but I won't promise anything until closer to the time... We also have that gig coming up at The Poetry Cafe on Friday 18th July. (See advert at bottom of post)
More soon - yeti hugs,
Paul xx
More soon - yeti hugs,
Paul xx
THE STUPIDITY OF BIRDS
(A FLIGHT OF FANCY)
"Those larger birds are so stupid..." Laughed the sparrow as he and his companion regarded the ostrich strutting about its enclosure at the zoo. "We smaller birds are able to move freely about the cages whilst those supposedly mighty birds of prey - the owls, the hawks and the eagles are all imprisoned behind bars... Even this ostrich who has no roof above his head and the peacock who wanders amongst the tourists are as good as trapped here because they are unable to fly to freedom..."
"The penguin has the same problem, but it's not as simple as that - isn't it the prestige?" Replied his companion wisely. "Nobody is coming here to see us... Certainly, we could leave any time that we like and yet we stay to pick over all the morsels of food discarded by those who come to visit... Does that make us any better or worse for being here? Aren't we just as much imprisoned as those other birds?"
"Not at all!" Disagreed his friend. "What makes us different is the choice - that we may come and go and yet we use this place as a resource to keep alive... Yes, these things are scraps - but we eat scraps in garden and scraps off the street - if anything the food here is better than that. Don't start twisting my case... We are liberated and they are foolish for allowing themselves to be taken advantage of..." Silence, not a word. "Well?" Persisted the first sparrow, glancing over, keen to receive praise for his concise deductions. "Oh..." Sadly, it was to be his last flight of fancy - for all that he saw before him was a haze of bloody feathers and the hungry yellow eyes of the zoo's resident cat.
Idea for this piece: 03/06/2014 whilst visiting Madrid zoo. First draft written in art gallery in Madrid on 04/06/2014.
This piece and all contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2014. THE STUPIDITY OF BIRDS will appear in his next collection, A YETI WAY OF THINKING.
