Desert Pelicans

Once a decade in Australia

a small group pelicans leave their safe harbor

and the lure of fast food from dumb tourists

to fly towards the fiery center of the continent

as if they had never heard of Icarus

They begin before a cloud has even formed

with no guarantee of rain

journeying to a place

that has been parched for nine long years

called by intuition and a deep yearning

As if the flapping of their wings

and the certainty of their faith

could stir the atoms in the air

a thousand miles away

(like the butterflies and their hurricanes)

the first drops begin to fall in the desert

enlivening ancient riverbeds and tributaries

which, contrary to all reason,

begin to flow inland

instead of out to sea

Soon, the transient lake begins to form

and with the magic kiss of rain

the brine shrimp are awakened

from their decade of dormancy

like sea monkeys in the wilderness

They will be food for other types

of Rip Van Winkle marine life

and with perfect timing

the pelicans arrive at the promised land

now teeming with fresh fish

Forget the milk and honey

there's bony bream and saltwater here

and plenty of room to build a nest

to raise a chick and teach it how to soar

how to be wild and free and full

All the while, the pelicans who stayed behind

can't even imagine what they are missing

they are happy to live the life of least resistance

content with wildlife welfare and trash heaps nests

until they have completely forgotten how to fly

Oh that I may always be a daring desert pelican!