The Cormorant, the Eel, and the Gull
May 4, 2009
Under the plane of a flat gray sky, the flat gray river surface is broken by the black head and neck of a cormorant. A black-backed gull hovers, settles in the water, and attempts to snatch with its beak something silvery floating between the two birds. The cormorant, out-classed in size, in weight, and in temperament, opens its hooked, serrated bill and charges the gull. The startled gull pulls back, but just for a moment, before grabbing again at the object in the river. Successful, the black-back lifts off, hauling a dangling eel from the water.
An eel that the cormorant caught could not swallow, but was resistant to relinquishing. As the gull flies, the squirming fish breaks free of the gull’s grip, falling back into its element. The black-back, not about to abandon a pilfered meal, lands once more in the river, where it attacks the fish, attempting to tear open the skin to reach the flesh within. Distracted by the diving cormorant, I look away, and when I look back the gull and the eel have disappeared, leaving only the flat gray river, under the flat gray sky.
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