BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN
Hurtling down Haldon Hill near Exeter, I noticed the cars swerving in the lane in which I was driving. As I reached the bottom of the great slope, I saw why they were swerving. A white dove stood there on the tarmac next to the splattered corpse of its mate.
I hooted.
The bird did not seem to care for the danger it was in; its sole focus was the remnants of its lifelong partner beside it.
So I swerved too.
Doves are not the most expressive birds, much like tortoises are not the most expressive of animals, yet this wide-eyed one appeared to be in a state of complete shock.
Inevitably, the dove was soon to be hit.
Faced with similar tragedy, would one stay put or move?
I thought of Jackie Kennedy clambering over the back of the Lincoln Continental convertible in November 1963. I thought of Cleopatra, who reportedly took her own life shortly after the defeat of Mark Antony, desperate to be with the love of her life in death. Then there was Dido, the Queen of Carthage from Virgil’s Aeneid: When Aeneas, her beloved, leaves to found Rome, Dido is consumed by grief and ultimately chooses to end her life, unable to bear a world without him.
On the one hand, I was certain I would stay put. The dove, with its unwavering presence, seemed exemplary in the way it portrayed love’s unyielding promise.
True loyalty knows no bounds, I thought, transcending even the silence of death.
On the other hand, maybe I would fly? Getting hit in the head by a Land Rover Discovery is one thing, but bleeding out for miles down the M5 in the grill of a Dacia Duster would surely compound one’s misfortune.
Many dove species form strong, monogamous pair bonds, often mating for life and displaying affection through preening and nuzzling. This bond helps them raise their young together and symbolises love and fidelity in many cultures.
I shall not soon forget that desperate dove nor the lesson with which it left me: true loyalty is not about being there when it is convenient; it is about being there when it is not.
Nonetheless, I am sure now that I would have flown, dragged away by my squashed partner’s inimitable spirit. For true love knows no boundaries; it is a bond that endures all trials, declaring that sensible exit route in every whispered vow, ‘until death do us part.’
Dominic Wightman is the Editor of Country Squire Magazine and the author of Dear Townies, Arcadia and Truth among other books including ‘Conservatism’ which publishes later this month.