journal features

bird of prey at our window

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2017.04.29

A bird of prey suddenly arrived on our balcony, diving at a mourning dove. The predator appeared quite suddenly, and swooped at a tight angle to catch the dove on the rail. The dove was knocked onto our balcony, the falcon beating its wings a couple of times to catch the thing as it fell away. The dove somehow got itself airborne and away before the falcon could recover. The falcon then flapped off to a nearby tree, and had a look around. When The Girl started exclaiming at the whole thing, the falcon too left for a distant house-top.

rand()m quote

If I had my life to live over, I'd try to make more mistakes next time. I would relax, I would limber up, I would be crazier than I've been on this trip. I know very few things I'd take seriously any more. I'd certainly be less hygenic... I would take more chances, I would take more trips, I would scale more mountains, I would swim more rivers, and I would watch more sunsets. I would eat more ice cream and fewer beans. I would have more actual troubles and fewer imaginary ones. Oh, I've had my moments, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have many more of them, in fact I'd try not to have anything else, just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of my day. If I had it to do all over again, I'd travel lighter, much lighter than I have. I would start barefoot earlier in the spring, and I'd stay that way later in the fall. And I would ride more merry-go-rounds, and catch more gold rings, and greet more people and pick more flowers and dance more often. If I had it to do all over again - but you see, I don't.

—Jorge Luis Borges