Freya Abbas
Waddling around,
On my short legs,
I find some fries on the ground,
And they are still fresh,
I start pecking at them with my beak
And think
This was a lucky find, this will make me plump
After the fries,
I peck around some more,
Someone left a cigarette in this parking lot,
It’s no good to eat, it smells too bad
And then I realize
The whole place has a smoky smell
Just like that cigarette
I’ve been in this city
For so long
I’ve grown accustomed to the humans
And though they have flaws,
They are interesting to me,
And they leave many snacks
On the ground
One time I met a seagull by the harbor,
Where humans sail on the glistening blue water,
She asked me why I stick so close
To where the most humans cluster,
And why not spend more time by the water?
And she agreed
That humans leave good snacks
“But in the end, don’t you fear them?”
She asked
And I thought that was silly,
They don’t have claws or fangs,
I’d rather be scared of foxes
Or owls
Or red-tailed hawks
But when I was waddling on the streets,
And plump from the fries,
I saw a lonely human in the corner,
And he looked so sad,
And he had a cup that was full of coins
And another human came and he barked
Something that didn’t sound nice
Then I understood what the seagull meant,
She feared humans for the way they treated each other,
And I know I steal food from other pigeons,
But it’s never because of the colour of their feathers
I have gray wings speckled with black marks
And a green neck
And I know some who look more plain
Some with flecks of blue or pink
And some that are just white
But it never mattered to me
I was bored of waddling around,
And needed something to satisfy my curiosity
So I took off into the sky,
Which humans can’t do
Unless if it’s in one of those big metal things
That can’t flap their wings,
And I went to the huge tower
That can be seen from anywhere in the city
It was a nice place to perch and think
We birds are ancient,
With our dinosaur blood,
And my red eyes have seen enough to know,
That such civilizations
Are fun while they last
But they always seem like they’re heading towards
Inevitable collapse
And when that happens
I’ll miss the snacks
But I’m sure we birds
Will be just fine without you
Why I Wrote This Piece
This poem is a literary experiment told from the point of view of a pigeon in the streets of Toronto. It describes the pigeon scavenging for food and observing humans. Though it is a simple-minded bird, it can tell that humans do not treat each other well and that the city contains inequality. Several locations in Toronto are alluded to, such as Harbourfront Centre, where the seagull meets a pigeon, and the CN tower where the pigeon perches and reflects at the end of the poem. While these landmarks are specific, the problems described in the poem, such as wealth inequality and environmental degradation, are not unique to Toronto.
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