Sent to us here at The Lodge.
I watch for them and mark the day
That they arrived last year
With trepidation, note the rain
And wish that they were here.
The storm that blows them off their course,
The drenching rain that chills,
Those beating wings, Fly high, fly high
Above the gun that kills.
They had to navigate and pass the Acacia groves
Where sticky lime sticks act as bait
And mist nest hang in rows
There men with bird calls
Through the night,
To lure the passing migrants
To rest awhile from flight.
I watched for them again today
With sinking in my heart, I fear their fate
I feel that they have gone astray
But still I watch and wait
The days go by, but as I lie immersed in sleep
A sudden fluttering near the pane sets me to leap
And gazing out to spy a soaring and dipping thing
White under parts and arrowed wing:
With that triumphal swooping flight
What twists and turns of pure delight.
How eagerly they greet their home
The muddy nests where they were born
But of the thirty birds that left
Only three returned.
- After witnessing illegal bird killing in Malta.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/supporting/campaigns/illegalkilling/index.asp
Why not check out the news from the wildlife enquiries team?
Hi Tom
Gosh that was a heart felt bit of writing.
I felt it was a story combined with literature at its best.
It reminds me of the famous poems we had at school and we where asked describe events as they unfolded. To me I would have written as lot about this one peom in itself. - like you do with interpretation of a peice of writing.
Beautiful and sad at the same time
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Hi Blackbird
Glad you like it. The lady who wrote it had seen our Malta campaign and sent us this poem she had published a few years ago. Very sombre piece of writing!
All The Best
Tom
Gosh it is very sombre, but puts the situation across so well!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
So very descriptive, and emotional. The situation in Malta is so sad.
The situation in Malta is even now appalling. Other places on the continent are bad too. The older populations have traditions going back hundreds of years on catching & killing song birds for food. Years ago when populations of birds were high & the human population not high, it wasn't so much a problem, but in these enlightened times when they have no need to eat song birds, it is totally barbaric.
That poem sums up the problem very well.
Best wishes
Val.