Rohan Buettel: ‘King Parrots’

King Parrots

enthroned in high boughs

                        although arrayed in finery

                                                they don’t behave like royalty

                                                foraging together

                        scarlet and green companions

in a family-run small business

each day visiting the back garden

                        a local market of winter fruits and seeds

                                                to obtain supplies

                                                the couple breakfast on small white flowers

                        of a garden shrub, edging precariously

along the narrow canes

lunching at a favourite restaurant

                        on winged samara of a Japanese maple

                                                taking fruit in claw, holding it up to feed

                                                unassuming, yet curious

                        after each bite heads raised

observing their surroundings

elegantly-fashioned partners

                        with the bright red of male charisma

                                                the rounded curve of the female’s head

                                                named after a third governor

                        who worked for the betterment of a colony

whose watercolours could never match their beauty

Rohan Buettel