an old writer and his words

  • CLINGING

    The small snail clings to the wallof the hotel room balcony, deafto the roar of the surf only yards away.He knows where he is going, knowshis purpose for being here.He moves at a pace youwould expect of a snail,and by the time we leavein two days he will haveprogressed, but it willbe impossible for us…

    Lou Faber

  • YOU AGAIN?

    On the path around the pondthe male of a pair of Sandhill Cranesstares closely at us wondering, perhaps,which if any of us actually belongs here.We more than return his stare, fumblingfor our cameras that claim they are phones,wanting to capture this moment.The crane proudly approaches, getsinches from the arm-extended phone. Is hetrying to see what…

    Lou Faber

  • IMPEDIMENTS

    Pause for a moment and considerwhat you truly think of the window,stared at but never seen, at worstan impediment, at best a shield.Is that why it gathers dirt and dust,a vain attempt to establish a presencethat we quickly try to deny again.Doors have an easier time of it forwe must acknowledge them, bidthem a handshake…

    Lou Faber

  • JUST STOP

    Stop what you are doing,put down your devices,turn off whatever you are streamingand look around you.Take careful note of what you see,inventory it if you wish.Now use your mind is a Time Machineimagine yourself right heretwo hundred, then four hundredand then a thousand years ago.What do you see? How is that worlddifferent from this one?…

    Lou Faber

  • WATCH CAREFULLY

    Stand on the edge of the wetlandas the sun sinks slowly on the horizonand the clouds burn a color that waterdoes not recognize at any other time of day.Watch as the flocks of ibis and egretscircle lazily then suddenly diveat odd angles onto desired percheson the bushes awaiting their arrival.The Great Egret standing tallon the…

    Lou Faber

  • LAUGHTER

    Each night the gallinules begintheir laughter, passing it from oneto another until you are no longer certainjust how many of them there are, butyou want to know just what comedythey are watching and put it on your list.But they are interrupted by the shadowsand the cry of the night Heronsdeparting for another night of huntingannouncing…

    Lou Faber

  • WATCHING

    Under the ever watchful eyeof the Red-shouldered Hawkthe Great Blue Heron foragesfor sticks for its slowlygrowing nest which ithas carefully nestled inthe heart of the small wetland.The hawk, his own nestnow complete stands sentrywarning me, my camerato keep our distance for thisis his territory and onlythose of fellow wingare allowed to enter intoits privileged realm.Soon…

    Lou Faber

  • SUBJECTION

    We have now fully masteredsubjection, some say we havedone it so often it is nowinherent in our nature.It is hard to argue that pointand we are now practicing iton more than other groups,we have turned our practiceon nature and her species.Birds are a perfect example.Applying our tried and truemethods we have slowly takentheir territory, forcing…

    Lou Faber

  • I HATE THIS

    I am not a person who hatestoo many things, and fewer people.I say that in my own defense, foryou have asked me to list my hates,and no one, anywhere, save perhapsthe Dalai Lama, is free of hate.so here goes my short list.I hate polluters and those who carenot at all for the world in whichwe…

    Lou Faber

  • AT THE APEX

    He reminds us that we are alsoapex predators just like the raptors,bald eagle, hawks, osprey, and whiletheir numbers have once again grownfrom the edge of extinction, we havemoved ever closer to it with our chemicalsolution to problems, our greed,our demand for what we desire,our environment be damned.He says the birds would speak to usbut they…

    Lou Faber