MAN IS NOT A BIRD Poem by Predrag Lucić

I spin this story in my head about Siljan the Stork
Who is both here and there
As I walk towards the cape of Konjsko
Hoping for a trophy shot
Of the only European pelican

Naturally they don't let me come too close
Chirping "Birdy!"
They wave to me from the distance instead:
Regards from the Lake of Prespa

But I am neither Siljan nor a stork
I am neither here nor there
I am nowhere to be precise

I can neither swim nor fly
Neither of the two
As I'm neither a rosy pelican nor an ordinary one

As un-nestled as I am
I'm trying to figure out what Frans Lanting
Tim Laman
Quinton and Nigge
And all those folks
Who take pictures of birds in flight
For National Geographic
Might do in a moment like this.

And how much salt they carry with them
To sprinkle on the birds' tails