A Sporting Summer

The sport is almost over
and its been better than good.

Superlatives are long worn out
and we can only sit and stare.

The energy and power
the motives and determination

are beyond the knowing
of lesser minds.

Today we saw a legend
and he came through again.

Then he cried
and he laughed

and we all clapped
....and marvelled.

Summer's End

The starling has gone
and so has the summer.

It was fast this year
and I wanted it to last.

I went away - new places and people
didn't want to return,
but I knew when I did it would all be okay.

And it was.

I sit here listening and then
I peer outside and see
high up on the telegraph pole
a sun drenched eagle surrounded by sparrows.

They make a noise and he doesn't care.
He waits patiently and silently.
The noise goes on
and then suddenly he stretches his enormous wings and
floats from his perch on an invisible cloud
that carries him over the moor.

Yes, its okay to be back.

Rose Coloured Starling

He came from Hungary
or so they said.
I wonder how long it took.

He seems to like island life
but not so much his neighbours.
He snaps and shrieks,
attacks at will,
chasing even gulls away.

And then he sits and looks around
puffing his pink chest out proudly.

Blackbirds peer around the gatepost
wary, wanting to share the guarded feast.
But there is no quarter given.
This foreigner wants to keep it all.
He doesn't eat -
just watches.

I hope he'll stay but
I know he won't.
It'll soon be time to find his way home.
He was welcomed here and he
rested.
But most of all he was spared
the horrors of being the twitchers' prey.

On Ormaclete Beach

The sea picked up it's skirts and ran,
leaving silver strands behind,
and pebbles nestling in the sand
for tiny turnstones to find.

Night Visitor

The silence is tranquil.
Eyes close gently and I feel
a soft breath beside me as my friend sleeps.

Then a sound.
I listen.
I try to decipher
then nothing.

Eyes close.
The quiet sleeping of my friend
does not disturb me.
The sound comes again -
a distant rasp of a click clack.

Click clack; trick track, brick brack;
Ceaseless, getting louder.

I lie awake
A smile pulls at the edges of my mouth.
Sleep is no longer important because I want to listen.

I know this sound.
I stay awake
revelling in the privilege
of sharing the night with
an insomniac corncrake.

The Blackbird's Wing.

A bee hovers
humming quietly
as it flirts with a rose.

I sit,
patient,
waiting
to hear the swallow sing
and see the dappled sunlight on a blackbird's wing.

Something New

The promise of something new hangs in the air.
Will I grasp it?

I think I might
but what will become of the past.
Can I take it with me or
would that be wrong.

I shall wait
and wonder.
Its happy time waiting.
My friend waits with me.

Heat

The warmth of the day filled my head,
leaving no room for usual thoughts.

Anger and frustration sat on the sideline
watching. And waiting.

But the sun kept shining and all through the day
the birds filled in the gaps with their songs.

Then the cold north wind brought sleet
and the contented peace was displaced.

And tomorrow more sun is forecast.
My friend and I like tomorrows.

Waiting for the Sun

Moments ago the sun was shining

but oddly it made me feel sad.

Thoughts turned inward and searching

for answers that I never had.

Then rain came and wind

blew cobwebs away

and I felt a strange calmness

wash over the day.

The sun is still hiding

and I wait by the door

watching the raindrops

bounce from the floor.

I am patient and know

that the sun will come back.

So I'll sit here and ponder

as life stays on track.

When Nature Decides

A lump formed in my throat
as I looked down at the small, lifeless form.

Bitterly cold and wet
and then a breath; a whisper
and a distant heartbeat.

For three hours we warmed
and held and tried to massage
a dwindling life.

I think it was the cold.
Its not spring up here.
Its still winter.

And winter took a new life.

Out of the Greeness.

The night brought a cloud of light
amongst the blackness and stars.

It was green and danced in circles and
then stopped, disappeared into darkness
and then came back with ever more clarity,
twisting and spiralling, opening up like curtains
on a stage.

My friend and I watched in silence.
The sky is our friend
and no words are needed.

Until all the ducks have gone by.

I sit and watch the morning sun
rise in the sky and across the moor.

I watch the clouds float across the cool sky
And I wait
until all the ducks have gone by.

For Robbie, a troubled soul.

My friend was troubled
it wasn't his fault,
dodgy wiring.

They all tried so hard
even boot camp failed
now he's gone.

My best friend says
he looked peaceful .
We cried but we know its the best.

I will see him tonight
in my dreams
then quietly lay him to rest.

Back where I Belong

Its a relief to be back.
The city was good but
I needed the reassurance of home.

The tree rabbits are gone
And so is the noise
And I have the freedom to roam.

I'm back in my bed
Curled up warm and safe
Remembering sounds of the night.

That I heard in the city
without knowing why or what
strangeness had come into sight.

But now that I'm back
I can start to unwind
And feel the grass under my feet.

No longer the pavements
the paths through the parkland
And cobbles of some city street.

I have freedom and fresh air
waking me early
as I'm drawn back to my island retreat.

In the City

It's noisy and smells
People tread on my feet.

I can't seem to breathe
when I run.

There are wide open spaces
and rabbits up trees

but I struggle to rest
when I'm done.

I shall Miss Him

I shall miss him.

I have to leave his place of  belonging and
hope that he returns when I do.

His magnificent aura; his piercing gaze; his arrogance;
I admire every inch of this magnificent creature
and when he turns his head and gives
a slight shake of symmetrical antlers
I feel a shudder of privilege and oneness.

I know that he sees me.

He came Back

He came again
in the half light of a quarter moon.

He gazed as I drew to a halt
and his large hypnotic eyes bored into me.

In an instant he was gone
turning with easy indifference
into the driving sleet.

I wanted to follow him.

On the way to Work

He stepped out of the darkness
and his eyes lit up.

His arrogance matched his
stature and he stood

as still as a monolith
and looked into the beam of light.

Then slowly, with practised indolence
he turned away and wandered back up the mountain.

That was the third time I saw him this week.

The Author

I went to a book signing tonight
and felt privileged.

I enjoyed his book so much.
It had everything
not least of which was the perfect description of this beautiful
island.

And the story gripped me.
Life doesn't get much better than a really good book.

Making Soup

It should be called feelgood
because that's what it does to me.

Pause for Thought

A thought came to me today
and it made me pause.

I decided to run with it and now
I'm dreaming.

I like my thought.
It is most unusual I suspect

a most unusual suspect.    

Day Too

Its been cold and very very wet.
Even wetter in the swimming pool
but I'm glad I went.

I always am.

Rivers are boiling in the glens
bursting their banks and making lazy sheep move.

Its a privilege.
I get to see all this beauty and then play in it.

This is going to be a good year.

The First day of a New Year

It's no different.

Maybe it will be.
I'm ever the optimist.