~
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
