Depicted here, on the high utility post in front of our farm, is a scene that we see often: The tiny takes on the mighty.
If you look close you will see a tiny red-winged blackbird sitting on top of a formidable red-tailed hawk. At other times we will see all sorts of little birds harassing the hawks to distraction and into retreat.
Tiny red-winged blackbird takes on formidable red-tailed hawk in front of Heatherhope Farm. Photo by John
You remember the story of David and Goliath. You remember too Moses and Pharaoh. Perhaps you even know the stories of Jael and Sisera or Judith and Holofernes or Jesus and Pilate. The Bible is full of stories like these. Stories that tell of the triumph of the victims in victory.
And a modern-day poet named Dylan wrote a sea shanty with the same sense of hope. It’s called “When the Ship Comes In” and it goes like this:
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin’
Like the stillness in the wind
Before the hurricane begins
The hour that the ship comes in
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they’ll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they’re spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin’
And the ship’s wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin’
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’
But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it’s for real
The hour when the ship comes in
Sayin’ we’ll meet all your demands
But we’ll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh’s tribe
They’ll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they’ll be conquered
Red-winged blackbird takes on a red-tailed hawk in front of Heatherhope Farm. Photo by John
