One Sunday morning
atop the fellowship hall
sat two black buzzards
holding up their wings
like unholy cherubim
like some ancient sign
of impending doom
(Woe to all who enter here!)
except that I know
a couple of things:
see, buzzards hold out their wings
for the sun’s cleansing
not as harbingers
of death (unless one counts the
zapped bacteria)
Sunday, December 8, 2024: The sight when I pulled into the church parking lot. The buzzards (black vultures) remained motionless atop the fellowship hall, disinfecting their wings in the bright sunlight, until the parking lot got too people-y for them and they flew off. Gotta admit this looks ominous, like something out of Poe or painted on the wall of an ancient tomb. Black buzzards are, however, “highly social birds with fierce family loyalty,” says the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. No wonder the church fellowship hall was so appealing to them for their own sun-day.
*******
with thanks to Two Writing Teachers for the March Slice of Life Story Challenge
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lit bits and pieces 
I love that they come to church for cleansing. They know where to find it. They actually strike me as buzzard greeters, opening their arms to welcome everyone – – even the buzzards among us.
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Buzzard greeters – love that, Kim. They could be like priests, too. They are, after all, performing a purification rite. These fiercely loyal birds sometimes symbolize healing. I can imagine them singing praises with those wings held aloft – but they lack the vocal mechanism to sing and “talk.” Endlessly fascinating to me!
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I have see cormorants do this same thing – sunning their wings. I love their poses. Wonderful poem, Fran. Have a lovely weekend. I’m headed your way – south – for spring break tomorrow – ROAD TRIP! Hope that will revive my energy level!
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Joanne, thank you for your words and I hope you have a wonderful, rejuvenating trip! Maybe you will see some exciting things in nature along the way.
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Fran, through fiction, ordinary things can be given ominous meanings. I didn’t know this about buzzards. I like the idea of them being welcoming greeters. Now, if I thought more like Stephen King…
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I can think of the buzzards as priests, too, as they are performing a purification ritual..they really are fascinating birds.
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Love your play on words within your caption. What a photo! Awesome poem, too!
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Thanks, Barb! I had a bit of fun with the poem. It was one of those times when form helped – in this case, haiku ‘syllables’.
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Teaser caught me because I like anything dark — your poem was tongue in cheek, but I so appreciated — love this line
“holding up their wingslike unholy cherubimlike some ancient sign”
and your switch to explaining them sunning themselves. Photo is great! Since I don’t have buzzards like that around me, it was cool to see!
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Thank you, Heidi – and these birds are really so fascinating. Much cleaner than what people think, cosidering the very important job they do, scavenging…in a way, they are healers.
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I always thought they were cooling down their bodies, so this was interesting. Great photo, too!
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That is fascinating information and so interesting they have chosen the church to get their bacteria zapped on! Love the poem and the word ‘people-y’! I see cormorants do the same by the river here, usually perched on a dead branch sticking out of the water. I thought they were drying their wings after they have dived under the water for food, but I guess they could be killing bacteria as well?! They look not unlike the buzzards in appearance.
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