An Outsider's Story

Two barn swallows gazed upon 

A humming bird beyond 

The open field and the pond. 

They watched the bird 

Wandering joyously, feeding on flowers. 

They watched the free bird 

Living out a pleasant non-urban life. 

 

Hovering above was a sparrow-hawk,

Casting a big, vicious, antagonist shadow.  

The bird anticipated and swept like an arrow.

Manoeuvring through the field, 

Skimming through the pond, 

He entered the urban concretes

And took shelter under a roof

Until the hawk fled past.

 

The wind blew suffocated, 

Filtering through the buildings. 

The bird felt like an outsider 

To the human environment. 

He flew past a building 

And sat on a long, outstretched wire. 

The swallow birds moved about in distress. 

 

They were far enough to reach the bird.

The field and the pond stayed still. Unmoved.  

The whispering winds had failed to warn the bird. 

The gathering clouds were on the verge of tearing up.

The whole of the environment felt like abandoners.

Within a flicker of moment and flutter of hope, 

The only humming sound was of the wire.