Seagulls
The atmosphere filled with shrilling
cries
Piercing the tractor’s labouring
growl
Strident and racous they're filling the skies
As it strains to turn the heavy ground
Line after line of glistening furrow
Shining ridges of new turned soil
With shrieking clouds of gulls that
follow
And trail in the wake of the
tractor’s toil
Their intricate pattern in constant
shift
They rise and whirl in upwards swirl
Gliding and riding the wind as they
lift
Then
swoop and dive and wings unfurl
Together they squawk and squabble and
bicker
Vying
for worms as the rich earth turns
With sunlight catching on wings that
flicker
They jostle and fight as the
ploughshare churns
With angry beaks and yellow feet
And glinting light on flashing wings
They fiercely compete over scraps to
eat
Feasting the harvest the turned earth
brings
A revolving flotilla they wheel and
bank
Curving their wings and gracefully
slide
Spread feet and tails to break the
descent
Cupping the air as they downwards
glide
They circle and settle and soar again
Continuous complex dance they weave
Moving in sinuous billowing cloud
Reaping the bounty the tractors leave
Beautifully observed - almost as though you were sitting on the tractor !And super shots ...I can hear them squawking now !
ReplyDeleteWell written lovely poem.
ReplyDelete