(for the Brandt’s cormorants and brown pelicans
of Bird Island, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve,
California)

•••

A convention of the slender black-cloaked,
long-necked ones gathers on the great rock,
some nesting the next generation into being,
while nearby a contingent of brown giants

somehow barnacles themselves to sharp
angles that look too small for their hulking
forms. Occasionally one great neck will
slowly elevator up, extending its full length,

its long-scissored beak digging into
a troublesome spot under a huge wing,
while some of the smaller denizens
of the rock stand tall, thrusting their

wings behind them, strutting like
sleek models on a runway. They
gather here nightly as neighbors,
the corms and pelcs, with the odd gull

here and there, seemingly in accord,
regardless of their differences—
not unlike those of us on the trail,
humans watching from afar,

we two-legged ones mutually
transfixed by the simple act of
watching wildlife bed down for
the night, smiling at strangers

united in this sweet, shared
moment before we head down
the trail to our own evening
rituals, to let sleep find

all of us miraculous,
breathing beasts.