pelican poop

pelican poop

an afternoon of scrubbing the deck

and I am finally

happily

ensconced in the hammock

enjoying a rest

and the early evening breeze

when to my horror

I see a blob that shouldn’t be there

on our newly scrubbed port bow

it looks like someone spilled

half a bucket of gunmetal-gray paint!

since that’s an improbable explanation

I reluctantly get up out of my hammock

to investigate

the blob smells like a can of rancid sardines

so I grab a bucket and a brush

yell to Dave for back-up

and we start sloshing it with salt water

it takes 10 minutes and some elbow grease

but we get it cleaned up

now I know nothing

about the digestive habits of birds

but I’ve decided

it must have been pelican poop

they’re the only birds around here

big enough to make that big a mess

maybe this one was sick

or maybe that’s just how pelicans poop —

come to think of it,

it looked like a larger, grayer version

of those runny little white bird droppings

that collect on park benches

and country mailboxes and car windshields —

and this bird was just rude enough

to hit my boat with his!

whatever the explanation

it’s not anything I care to see

(or smell) ever again!

now back to my hammock

for that stolen bit of peace and quiet

before it’s time for dinner

tuesday 21 march

lent 2017

Maho Bay, St. John