The Poetry of Birds

By James Hathersage

This book is one of, if not, actually the largest collections of Bird related poetry by a single Author. Most of the Birds described are British and European Birds, but they have close cousins in North America. There are one or two interlopers from elsewhere. Even the humble cockerel has Far Eastern jungle origins, but is now global in its distribution. Observing Birds soon shows them to behave as individuals with traits that are acquired and not just from their species. Happily many Birds can be befriended, and they make excellent subjects for poetry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: James Hathersage
• Release date: Oct 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393241775

Book preview

1

My Little Lady Friend.

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Two friendly feet upon my palm,

You so bewitch me with your charm,

Sensing safety, trust and calm,

My little one won’t come to harm.

-

A cheeky peep, you dip your head,

And gently take a crumb of bread,

As from some childhood picture read,

So full of meaning, nothing said.

-

My faith that you should come to share

this joyful moment, unaware

that this for you may seem unfair,

My blissful time beyond compare.

***

2

The Owl.

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Sunlit in the walnut tree,

Perched silently at ease,

Her camouflage of pretty feathers

ruffled by the breeze.

-

Dreaming of night hunting trips,

Out quartering the forest,

In the dark hushed dead of night,

Reward is never promised.

-

Twixt traceries of branches,

On the wind to watchful wander,

Then to flare her wings and settle

briefly, on some branch, to ponder.

-

Eyes that focus in the darkness,

Hearing can detect each rustle,

Facing forward, facing backward,

Scarce the need to move a muscle.

-

Our sun has set, now evening falls,

The day has reached finality,

The owl awakes, her senses sharp,

Her night is now reality.

***

3

The Nightingale.

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The Nightingale seems such a nondescript bird,

A modest, brown, overgrown wren,

But a book is not judged by its cover,

So in nature, again and again.

-

By the Tiger she’d hardly be noticed at all,

The Tiger so striking and strong,

Next to this bird a clear winner you’d say,

If you make that assumption, you’re wrong.

-

Though the Tiger can roar a blood curdling roar,

Striking fear like some poisonous dart,

The nightingale sings such a beautiful lay,

A sweet song as can soften your heart.

***

4

Storm Petrel.

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Have you ever seen a petrel

Prancing, dancing on the waves,

Demonstrating all the skill o’

Dolphins lancing through a billow.

With the outline of a swallow,

Every crest she seems to follow,

Feeding whilst there’s time to borrow,

Just as if there’s no tomorrow.

Till at last comes time to rest,

When the sun sets in the west.

***

5

Oystercatcher.

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I’m not an oystercatcher,

I’m an oystercatcher’s son,

I’m standing catching oysters,

Till the oyster catching’s done.

-

If you’re an oyster thatcher,

That is not the thing to do,

If you’re an oyster scratcher,

It will be no good to you.

-

You can mix and match with oysters,

Till the live long day is done,

But . . . if you’re not an oystercatcher,

There’ll be nothing in your tum.

***

6

Little Auk

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I think I heard a little squawk,

Perhaps it was a little auk.

Most numerous of all sea birds,

Its tiny outline quite absurd,

Quite puffinesque in many ways,

Like a dwarf penguin shall we say.

-

Yet being small is really all

One needs to win life’s throng and thrall.

For there was once a great auk too;

That matters not at all,