Billy No Mates Magpie: My Tree

Outside my kitchen window stands a single hopeful tree Such beauty in the ghetto is a saving grace for me In the spring at night it’s silver buds shine like tiny stars Twinkling by the bin store and the white vans and the cars In summer green it’s vibrant leaves shade cat **** covered grass And flicker subtle shadows on my kitchen window glass In the autumn there are berries, for tiny birds to eat Glowing brighter than the sunset, falling red on grimy street So many contemplative pigeons seeking sanctuary I’ve seen So many blue ****, sparrows, robins, adding colours to the green Squirrels, blackbirds, starlings; quarrels, lovemaking and chat The cuckoo of a carrier bag, the stranded curious cat One day they will chop it down and all that will be left Will be the tarmac and the garages, and I shall be bereft In the meantime, it is winter; naked branches cold and bare And a single lonely magpie, every morning, sitting there Usually with magpies, if you wait a little time Another bird will come, to bring you joy, as in the rhyme I watch the skies with hopeful eyes from early dawn till late Can he be the only magpie in the world without a mate The magpie sits alone and waits, he’ll be alone tomorrow Billy No Mates Magpie And his sorrow by Gail