A kestrel flies the sky with slow wing strokes,
then glides in and out of invisible windows.
Of a sudden - stillness - no sign of a hover,
as if a child's kite had caught an updraught
and ceased upon the wind.
Did a field rat stand on two legs
to sniff a waft of air?
Did its long pink nose
twitch, its whiskers tremble?
Down plunges a glimmer-flash
of feathered wings.
Down comes a thunderbolt of silence.
A strike!
The rodent is snatched-up
by far-reaching talons.
For an instant the rat wriggles -
it is dead as the bird rises.
Categories:
updraught, poetry,
Form: Free verse
I light a candle for I love its soft light
But it flickers despite no breeze in night
I like the flicker, but I want it to be happy
To be steady, contented, a friend true and sure.
Is it puffs of wind that disturb it so?
I feel no draft of breeze on go
Perhaps its warmth creates its own updraught
Perhaps it knows more than I about air care.
Is there a spirit congealed within the wax?
That I bring to life with enlighted match
If so then I welcome this spirit stuff strut
But Please! Stop waving at me incandescently.
Is there some imperfection in the candle?
Have I urged in buying too cheaply, got junk
Next time I'll buy better, I promise.
So Please! Stop the flicker, forgive me!
When I stare at the candle intensely
Does it flicker more or less
Is it better this way or that?
Forget the flicker, move it away a tad.
There now, the flicker is beyond peripheral
It is still there ticking away its flicks
But flicker and I have compromised
A concensus to be unconsciously enlightened.
Categories:
updraught, light,
Form: Free verse
Eagle soars, circles in the updraught
keen eyes spot rabbit
it swoops, dives
run rabbit run
at the last possible moment
it turns uphill
eagle has to turn away
for fear of wing damage
talons missed the target
rabbit gets away
I am with you
Young child sneaks out of tent
at dawn, runs down to the water
crock lays in waiting
in a foot of water
near the edge as fauna
looks for a morning drink
young child about to step into
the water gets spooked
by a magpie, runs back to the tent
crock goes hungry
I am with you
Stalker watches young woman in car park
pack shopping every Wednesday night at 10
he's already killed before
as he's about to abduct her
a police car pulls into the carpark
to apprehend a suspected shoplifter
She goes home
I am with you
always
Categories:
updraught, adventure, mystery, nature,
Form: Dramatic Verse