Daybreak 2

Daybreak 2
                 Frank Halliwell
At first light every morning 
And before  dusk  every night,
All looking for a handout,
And quite sure they'll find a bite.
Of suet and some birdseed
And some honeyed water too,
And the feast is laid on
Every day at Uncle Frankie's zoo!

Resplendent in their rainbow coats
The Lorikeets appear!
The royalty of this feathered world
To none do they show fear!
Their subjects sit and grumble
Round the fence and in the trees,
And wait noisily for their turn,
And for the crowd to ease.

My cheeky black-backed Magpie
Arrives with her demand!
Self-service isn't good enough,
She must be fed by hand!
So Pussy's dish gets raided
To get a scrap of meat
So cheeky and her bigger mate
Can have a bite to eat!

Two slits of jet in yellow orbs,
A furry ginger coat,
A furtive movement in the grass
Might very well denote..
The cat is out there watching
And would like to try her luck...
A malevelent island in a sea
Of feeding ducks!

Down by the dam, a Spoonbill
Seeks his breakfast round the edge,
Sifting small crustacions
Through the bullrush and the sedge.
And sleek in brown and white
Atop a single rock nearby,
A cormorant preens her feathers
With her wings hung out to dry.

And up behind the aloe patch
With stiff and stately strut
A Royal Ibis pokes and prods
Hunting for god knows what?
I wonder what the day will bring?
It will be no surprise
If it's like all the others here...
Perfect, with sunny skies!
          ***

Copyright © Frank Halliwell | Year Posted 2013

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