Pic and a Word #234: Presences

• Manja Maksimovič

In such times as these it’s hard to keep the presence of mind. I hope you’re managing it. Here to help, a variety of presences from around here.

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Presences

In such times as present
it’s hard to keep presence of mind.

As if we’d had them yet,
such times as present.

And we never will again,
they re-present the present moment.

Black man murdered by police.
CNN reporter and crew arrested on air.

Reuters cameraman shot,
in the face, with a rubber bullet.

Others will die and be wounded
but only the unjust fight journalists.

Elsewhere monkeys steal Covid-19 samples
and are seen drinking them.

Remember the geese, our neighbours?
The Geese of the Apocalypse?

They were four.
As of yesterday it’s down to one.

The last lone goose
with only donkey for company.

Which is the last rider standing,
causing absences with her presence?

I’d guess Famine
but surely it’s Death.

The poem is sad but the animals that follow are happy and happy-making. They were all captured in the last two weeks.

  • The controller is very present.
  • Two weeks ago they were still two.
  • A presence at the end of our driveway.
  • Quickly turned into absence.
  • Back to the Orbetello lagoon after three months. An egret?
  • Birding with bestia is not recommended. Everybody flees.
  • We didn’t scare these. Only now I recognise them. Flamingos in May!
  • A barking sweetheart closer to home.
  • “Look, dog.” “Yeah. So what.”
  • Only later I realised what they had been looking at before we came by.
  • This is what. Never before I’d seen one of these.
  • Non-venomous. Gož in Slovenian, Aesculapian snake in English. (Really?)
  • On our wall.
  • Also on our wall. Gecko in the night.
  • Another morning, another stroll. Supersized doves.
  • One of them flew up there to check us out.
  • On return. I waited for it to run across but he retreated back. Slick.
  • I feel you, goose.
  • You’re not all alone.
  • You’ve got your donkey.
  • Even if he does nothing much else but ass-scratching.

In response to Patrick Jennings’ Pic and a Word Challenge #234: Presence

31 thoughts on “Pic and a Word #234: Presences”

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