goldfinches
early morning 7 a m,
swilililipping, skipilipping
ceased,
from next-door neighbour’s alder tree,
airily, bouncily, goldfinches
down-swoop
heads striped black, red and white;
wings black with broad bar
yellow bright -
followed by a second
and a third,
beaks steeled to pinpoint, pilfer, pinch,
patiently sown seeds
from flower bed
newly stripped of weeds.
as bold as brass,
heads high; shoulders back,
strutting their stuff,
royal logistics corps-like,
probing here, prodding there,
with military precision,
before reaching a decision,
to search for seeds
elsewhere.
@ rowland paul hill