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…
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