The Long and Short of It

{b}The Long and the Short of It
© 2018 Candice James

I ordered some cosmic soup and ate my share of crow.
I thought I had arrived but still had far to go.
I met a seagull wading and strolling on the shore.
We spoke of many things and thought we'd both been here before.

We spoke of time and space and the universe divide.
We waded deeper in and spoke of time and tide.
He told me of his time in Spain and the insurrection.
I said I was with Jesus at his resurrection.

We bantered back and forth with some truth but mostly lies.
He was a regal seagull; that much I could surmise.
We talked of composition, poetry and prose
and some obscure writers no-one recalls or knows.

He said he'd been a courier before he broke his wing.
I told him I'd played football but only second string.
We'd both dabbled in painting but never learned to draw.
He said his crow wife left he because he couldn't caw.

Some pelicans were fishing at the water's edge.
An eagle perched and preened on a rocky ledge.
The seagull turned to me and said by the way my name is Dick.
I said my name's Cornelius but my friends just call me stick.

Engrossed in conversation the time had slipped away.
The clouds were rolling in and covering up the day.
I bent down to shake his wing just before we split
and that's my tall tale story ... well, the long and short of it.