The Day I've Killed a Pombo

Question:
when that guy said,
You shall not kill,
Does it apply to pigeons?

Because I’ve killed one.

With my bike. I ran over a pigeon.

And I was really sorry.

Not that I love pigeons, I mean, who does, but that is not the point.

I’m not saying we should only feel sorry when we kill what we love,
because that would mean it’s fine to kill what we don’t.

And that is the whole point of the commandment, right,
the entire point of “You shall not kill”.

The commandment doesn’t say,
You shall not kill – but only the things you love.
For all the rest, unwanted, unloved beings,
all good, just go ahead and kill them.

#####

I’m not proud of what I did.
But I might joke a little bit.

I was riding my bike going to the gym
And there he was, crossing the street.

Actually, he was jaywalking.

And before you question my choice of gender,
I’m saying the pigeon was a “He” based on his high level of confidence.

He had the confidence of a white straight male.

He was just there, crossing Manhattan Avenue,
with no regard for traffic.

That Avenue is no man’s land, and maybe
the last space of Freedom in America,
because you STILL can do whatever you want there.

I’m not trying to justify my act.

Also, it is not like I was in the “Outdoors”, you know what I mean,
So, I accidentally invade the pigeon’s natural habitat with my bike...

I don’t know where their natural habitat is.

If you think about it, they belong to the city.
They live in buildings and eat bagels.
They might even eat concrete for that matter.

#####

I was always very jealous of pigeons in Brazil.
Because in Rio, although no one liked them –
(they say pigeons are Rats with wings) –
They would walk and act as if they were swans from a fairy tale.

I wish I had that kind of self-esteem.
Hated by everyone.
Not giving a damn about it.

That makes NYC officially the Number 01 Capital of Rats,
If you also consider those without wings.

We don’t have that number of rats in Brazil.
At least we don’t see them, or they are not so bold.
Not that we are free of undesirable urban species.

Like roaches, we have a lot of them.
In Brazil, they can fly, so you can’t keep track of their whereabouts.
They fly like eagles with the confidence of a pigeon
and the boldness of a rat.

I’ve killed one once crossing a street, but I didn’t feel guilty.
It was an opportunity, and I took it.

Meanwhile, the soon-to-be-dead pigeon was completely
unaware that he was about to become the protagonist
of all these thoughts.

My point is, if I were a Pigeon,
I would take advantage of it.
Why cross a street if you could fly over one?

I believe that flying is a very important feature.
When I was a Kid and thought about super-powers,
I was always between Flying and being Invisible.

I see now that wanting to be invisible turns out to be a self-curse.
I do feel invisible now as an artist, and that doesn’t “look” like a power.

And flying, well, would be the closest I could get to teleportation.

Which will always be the real deal, super-powers-wise.

I could just teleport myself to Brazil,
and come back skipping immigration.

But as I grew up, my only superpower was endurance.
Which is very tiring and, not surprisingly, counterproductive.
We can’t have everything, right?
Who do I think I am?

A pigeon? Full of esteem and wings?

As you can see, my aspirations are based upon
Comparing myself with Pigeons, Roaches, rats...

I wish my feelings of inadequacy were like them.
Inadequate - But they don’t care about it.
“They are doing it.”