A terse tercet
We’re weary of your endless chatter,
We’ll serve your tongue upon a platter –
Cooked deep fried and done in batter.
TH
Writing prompt: close encounters with birds
A friendly visitor to our picnic
Last week my wife and I went for a drive from our son’s home in Artarmon, Sydney, to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. We stopped in several places along the way and ended up at West Head Lookout. From here you can see over Broken Bay and some of the beaches and islands in that area.
At one point my wife was sitting on one of the seats admiring the view when her phone rang. It was her sister calling from South Australia. She was so distracted by the conversation that she didn’t notice our visitor, an Australian Brush-turkey (see photos). The turkey just casually wandered around us, merely a metre or so from us. It was a wonderful photo opportunity.
Writing prompts
I love having close encounters with birds and the natural world of animals. I’ve written many poems about birds.
- Write a poem about a close encounter you’ve had with a bird, animal or other creature.
- Include animals, birds and the natural environment in a short story.
- Relate an incident where you were surprised, frightened, amused or amazed by a close brush with a bird, reptile, fish, animal or some other creature.
Read more about Brush-turkeys:
Australian Brush-turkey, West Head, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park
Poem #49 Caper white
No Comments »16th November, 2013; Category: Poetry
Caper white butterfly
Caper White
On a cloudless bright
Blue spring day the
Garden buzzes excitedly
With bees, birds and butterflies.
The lavender stems
Stand proud and tall,
Their delicate flowers
Perfuming the warm air.
Two caper white
Butterflies briefly taste
The lavender nectar,
Restlessly flitting
From flower to flower
In an endless quest
To be fully satisfied.
But their insatiable
Appetite makes my
Attempts at photography
A challenge in patience
And persistence.
© 2013 Trevor Hampel
All Rights Reserved.
- Written on 5th November after attempting to photograph two caper white butterflies feeding on lavender bushes in our rose garden.
Caper white butterfly
Poem #48 Rudely Awoken
No Comments »9th November, 2013; Category: Poetry
Rudely awoken
First light crept through
Our bedroom curtains
Beckoning us to arise
And be about our daily tasks.
Early morning dreams still washed
And swished through our
Foggy minds not really
Wanting us to wake fully.
Thump!
The loud thump
Sat us up in bed
Wondering what
Had crashed.
‘Must be another bird,’
I muttered, going barefoot
To draw open the curtains
To investigate the disturbance.
Oh dear! Catastrophe!
No injured bird was seen – only
A pane cracked diagonally
From corner to corner.
Somewhere we had a raven
Or magpie with a massive
Headache that morning,
Forced to reflect on its mistake.
© 2013 Trevor Hampel
All Rights Reserved
- Written on 3rd November 2013 on an incident which occurred several mornings previously.
Poem #47 Visitor
No Comments »7th November, 2013; Category: Poetry
Visitor
He saw me first.
As I came around the corner
Of the shed he straightened up,
Looked steadily at me coming his way,
Alert, observant like a soldier on duty.
I had glimpsed him watching me
Despite being partially hidden
In the shadows of the trees.
I moved slowly, not desiring
To frighten him into flight,
Wanting to get a closer look,
Pleased he had come to visit
Our little patch of scrub.
I obviously came too close
And he bounded off away from me,
His long, curved tail counter-balanced him
As he escaped, though I meant no harm.
Come again soon.
© 2013 Trevor Hampel
All rights reserved.
Kangaroo