the swallows are fighting

The swallows are fighting. They are aerial fighters. They streak through air side by side and body slam each other mid flight into walls. There are harsh thumps when a body slammed swallow hits a wall. They are not kidding around. They are seriously trying to hurt each other.

No one has hit the ground yet coming off a wall. They slam, bounce, spin and recover. They are so tiny. How can a creature that tiny hit a wall that hard and keep flying? But they do.

I think of my swallows as these gentle sweet little birds that make little chirps and dolphin clicks and burble to me at night when I am on the balcony. I have to remind myself when they fight, they are really little dinosaurs with feathers. And nature is harsh, not gentle.

I have seen doves fight. Doves are not aerial fighters. Doves face each other on branches, slashing each other with their wings like those wings are swords. “Birds of peace” going after each other like Samurai killers.

Nobody says anything about this in stories about the ark.

Dinosaurs with feathers.