This afternoon I had a wonderful experience visiting one of the ladies from the It’ s write easy group.
Her name is Kinsa and she is looking after the vicar’s house down my street where I live.
Kinsa is an upcoming poet and writer of stories for children. She also loves to paint.
I asked her if I could publish one of her poems on my post. She agreed and sent me this one. The poem paints such a clear picture that when you close your eyes you can hear the sounds and see the picture clearly in your mind.
Here it is.
Bird Drama
Into the space created by the horizon and the sky
I stare, in my own space of early morning reverie
in oneness with all – freedom.
A scene of domesticity floats round my peripheral vision –
the five chooks hanging round for their early morning feed
and the old white duck of course – one-eyed.
Aware now of the distant quardle oodle wardle of visiting magpies
creating a drama amongst the birds usually free-floating overhead,
I’m watching the danger alert – En guarde!
Sudden purposeful flight of a small flock to a vantage point
in a tree fern. Immobility of four lookout birds. Palpable alertness.
Mynahs or starlings? So still I couldn’t tell – thick silence.
The punga becomes host to others seeking refuge. Rigid stillness,
the sky space empty but for the magpie’s conversation
and the listening of the others – sshh! Wait!
Then one silly piwakawaka appears, oblivious to anything
but its own chirpy freedom to giddily gyrate in the space
between heaven and earth -unconscious.
The spell is broken. The quardle oodle grows fainter.
Bird chatter re-starts and I reluctantly return to myself
to face the day -responsibility.
Kinsa Hays April 24, 2012 Te Puna, Tauranga
Facts about fantail/pīwakawaka
Where is it found?
South Island fantail
The fantail is widespread throughout New Zealand and its offshore islands, including the Chatham Islands and Snares Islands. It is common in most regions of the country, except in the dry, open country of inland Marlborough and Central Otago, where frosts and snow falls are too harsh for it. It also breeds widely in Australia and some Pacific Islands.
The fantail is one of the few native bird species in New Zealand that has been able to adapt to an environment greatly altered by humans. Originally a bird of open native forests and scrub, it is now also found in exotic plantation forests, in orchards and in gardens. At times, fantails may appear far from any large stands of shrubs or trees, and it has an altitudinal range that extends from sea level to the snow line.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/fantail-piwakawaka/facts/
