Winter sun bathes the bricks, white
tailed bumble bees tumble from
their winter bunks, stagger towards
ivy florets, the hinterland between
park and street – a refuge from exhaust
fumes and a thousand hurrying feet.
Rush hour and darkening sky
heavy with manic murmuration
starts a panic among the beetling crowds.
Upturned faces –
Sudden cessation of shriek –
Like a giant bat’s wing the flock
shrouds the city wall and hangs –
silent above the footfall.
Twenty or thirty years ago huge flocks of tens of thousands of starlings roosted in cities. They no longer roost in such numbers here in Newcastle upon Tyne.
I am retired and live in the NE of England. I try and keep active and interested and involved in a variety of activities: yoga, walking, writing and, since Sept 2019, taking groups round art galleries. We discuss what we have seen and share thoughts about how the works of art have affected us personally. Hopefully I can set up another blog/website about this latter subject before the New Year. My reading includes poetry, fiction, philosophy and other non-fiction. My writing reflects my interests, as you can see if you browse my blog-posts. A number of my poems and other writings have been published online.
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All Things Creative 