As they gently circle and
then for a moment become motionless

the gulls seem to be held aloft
by a mobile’s invisible strings.

Allowing for sudden drafts to take them
to higher levels

they maintain a deliberate focus
to garner scraps from
the dock below.

While the gulls’ stark beauty
may deflect their acrid cries
for recognition

these avian scavengers could abruptly
glide away in search of another
hopeful offering.

We may be easily captivated by
these observed actions

yet for the gulls they represent
daily survival tasks
we’ll never fully comprehend.

ROBERT WINDORF an Ed.D. educator on Long Island, is a professionally trained voice-over actor, and he taught creative writing courses at a local university for several years. An award-winning poet, many of Windorf’s poems have appeared within various anthology collections and literary journals, and his flash fiction has appeared within online journals.