Mary Jones: Two Poems

Pied Cormorant

Stealthy head rises without warning

body follows as an afterthought

low in the water, reluctant

to show its full extent

to watching

eyes.

Fishing finished

resting on rock,

wings

are hung out

to dry, quivering

tail feathers shimmying

impatient to be wind-baked,

immaculate, to glide and dive again.

Ladies Who Lunch

The restaurant at the winery

fills with chatter,

the Musak of low voices

a gentle background hum.

The descant startles

when it first erupts

in shrieks of laughter.

Heads are turned

towards the window table

where the flock has settled.

The noise continues

they peck at salads,

sipping wine

easing off under the table

uncomfortably elegant shoes.

Their voices soar and swoop,

shrilling

spilling

filling the air around them.

They share dessert,

retrieve capacious handbags from the floor,

split the bill

are gone in a flurry of air kisses.

Colourful and gregarious.

Several species may feed…