Be a milder soul

magpies even twice. Unfortunately, the same thing happened to me last year as well. I had no idea who did this. Back then, I noticed that something hit the back of the head while I was strolling around the neighborhoods. Turning my head, I found no one there except a bird flying afar. It was not until I found a written notice posted up in the elevator one day this year that I realized that it was an azure-winged magpie that attacked me in the back of the head. Just two days after I spoked to myself that I will keep my guards up against their strikes this year, I was victimized again even twice.

After I searched the web to find that there are lots of people out there who are attacked by these little bullies, I learned a fact that they attack people when they have eggs or baby chicks nearby, leaving me ashamed of getting upset as this makes me seem like a mean human.

Looking at their incredibly beautiful tail in a blue hue, I find it hard to throw my anger at these little birds. Taking a stroll a few weeks ago, I found persimmons partly eaten presumably by birds hanging up in the trees, mumbling to myself, “Oh, they must have been stuffed.” At the same time, part of me hoped that they were azure-winged magpies that hit me in the back of the head and their grown-up babies leaving the nest.

Reading a few pages of Mary Oliver’s “Wild Geese” is part of my nighttime routine. Every time I feel as if I left wherever I am not allowed to be and came back to be a more mild-mannered character, I come to the realization that getting hit by the little birds is one of the most wonderful things that I have ever experienced since this year.