Elegant death. The seabirds at the Atlantic beach we walk on have such an elegant, touching death sequence. I believe they do this when they die a natural death. They must know it is their time and they touch down on the beach for their final time. Once on the sand they rest lightly and fold their long, swanlike neck back so that their head lies gently on the sand next to their wing. They turn their head ever so slightly so that one eye is looking heavenward, the other to the ground. Their body is tilted ever so slightly so that one wing is loosely pinned under their body and the other is exposed to the sky. They rest their head next to this wing....the one that is skyward. And so...we find this creature, serene, eye opened to the sky. We find this elegant death because as the ocean breezes blow gently towards this submitting end, the wing that is not pinned is lifted up, one last time, by the breath of heaven...so that it declares stretched to full span like a flag, or a sail....goodbye friends, goodbye sea and sand, goodbye life and peace is found in death and the breeze and the salt air.