Ritual of Being – How to Name the Birds of Self

 

 






I’ve been told –

everyone fits into one of four roles in life driven by 4 primal Urges

They’re either a Dove, A Peacock an Eagle or an Owl

 

Yet, I find myself identifying as Magpie that tends to hang out with Kereru,  Pukeko, and Kea–

those woodpigeons that tend to defy gravity by hanging out on thin branches

or those blue and red long legged swamp hens hanging out in cul de sacs,  

and those green parrot bastards try to bite you and steal anything shiny from your car.

Love all of those guys

 

I’ve been shown  -  

how we get boxed in by the Four Urges that drive us, that defines us,

Urges that makes you put on masks when you get up in the morning

Sometimes when you put on these masks, you end up in flocks of people

all wearing the same masks.

 

A Dole of Doves invited me to a symposium at suburban dinner party in west Auckland

It was full of perfectly plumed Little Doves, yet when they went out on a limb

Sitting on a branch they turned into a loft of woodpigeons

 

A muster of peacocks came to a function in Blockhouse Bay

With class in one hand and a jar of silver tongues in the other

yet it was a gawky of head bobbing pukekos was seen leaving the place

 

A convocation of Eagles form as a soaring over a central Auckland apartment

With a snake around their neck as a tie, all in collared shirts and pressed pants

But deep in a man cave they turned into a circus of Kea singing Bella ciao (x2) Bella ciao ciao ciao

 

A Parliament of Owls gather in the Night at an art exhibition in former Carrington Psych Hospital

in pods of Hooting Owls, drinking wine, eating crackers and cheese

Later that night behind the building it as a mischief of magpies that could be found

 

The Four masks I thought I knew

gone,

replaced by Kereru, Pukeko, Kea and Magpie

With a drop of daemons blood in their beak and obscure tattoos under their feathers

They pass through the underworld in their sleep,

known to associate With witches, fools and fortune tellers

 

I’ve been told

that these variants of the Norm socialize by prancing and dancing around on black sand

causing disruption, cackling maniacally about it

 

I’ve been shown

 that One outlier alone is seen as bad luck,

but together they can bring on a change that should not be missed

 

 

 

I’ve been told

Light against Darkness, Earth against Stone, Rainbow against the Void or fire against ice,

 

I’ve been shown

 the kind follower can be a motivated leader, the blind follower could be a great manager,

 the strong manager can be a broken leader, the strong leader could be a weak follower

 

I’ve been told

Light against Darkness, Earth against Stone, Rainbow against the Void or fire against ice,

 

I’ve been shown

 Light, darkness, rainbow, void, earth, stone, fire, ice

Working in harmony beyond the polar ideas of four roles

 

I’ve seen  

Four Urges always caught in conflict, feathers flying & they call this a normal working day

All in a days work

 

I’ve seen  

That Owl is a killer, Owl is a daemon that watches,

As a Magpie he is singing tales of madness and evils at open mic nights

 

I’ve been told

Don’t you forget to put on that mask ;

 What mask will I wear Today? What mask will you wear Tomorrow?

But I left the four Urges on the coat-rack today

and swapped them for some native birds

 

I’ve been shown

How 4 urges turn into 4 new ones for each culture you embrace, 4 more for each sub-culture you become part of

Growing exponentially as you let go of the idea of a reality that only exists on a x,y-axis chart

As part of a statistic of normality

I’ve been told

About a world beyond the four Urges that you are meant to fit into

 

I’ve been shown

A world of change as a Magpie

 that prefers the company of Kereru,  Pukeko, and Kea

I’ve been told

Light against Darkness, Earth against Stone, Rainbow against the Void or fire against ice,

 

I’ve been shown

 Light, darkness, rainbow, void, earth, stone, fire, ice

Working in harmony beyond the polar ideas of four roles

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