Home Birds

~

watch them, they’ll circle twice 

to get their bearings

and be off,

my puerile ‘how do they’ enquiry 

answered without

a hint of condescension by

a portly man in a tweed jacket,

it was his old Austin Countryman 

which drew my attention; 

immaculate, not show-perfect

but exceptionally well looked-kept,

he struggled somewhat to

remove the F&M style wicker

hamper from its rear seats, that he’d

judiciously covered in newspaper,

then from a clear space the lid

was quickly thrown open

the contents spilling out as if

their lives depended on this

one last gasp chance of freedom,

a raucous clap, flap, slapping

akin to a round of applause 

mayhem ascending into a chaotic 

pattern above my head 

that quickly shaped  

to form a dynamic flock that cruised 

on an initial flypast as if sniffing the breeze

before one final low pass 

as if to say ‘race you home’ 

and they were gone

*

© Graham R Sherwood 06/23