PANDERING

 

The Giant Panda

To some extent

Is the architect

Of its predicament

Its choice of habitat

And fussy diet

Contributes greatly

To its demise, I regret

KING GEORGE’S PARAKEETS

 

It was unbearably hot

Unbearably humid

Even breathing was exhausting

Overcome with fatigue

I parked my jeep at the roadside

In a shaded spot

I recline my seat

And pulled my hat over my eyes

And tried to grab forty

My shirt was soaked with sweat

And stuck to me and the seat

It was no good I couldn’t sleep

It was the constant noise

But not from the traffic

Rumbling by

It was the birds

Squabbling parakeets

Hundreds of them

Chattering and squawking

I gave up trying to nap

And got back underway

You come to expect this

Next to an Australian highway

But not parked in a lay-by

Next to a reservoir in Staines

THE GIANT ATTRACTION

 

In captivity Panda’s suffer

Great indignity

They’re sexual failures

On display for all to see

MY FAVOURITE TIME

 

It’s my favourite time

A special time

A magical time

A time for romancing lovers

For shared enjoyment

Or solitary reflection

A time to drink in the vistas

Along with the cocktails

Awe inspiring displays

Whether over the open sea

Or beyond high distant mountains

Over prairie or savannah

Or painting barren desert

Or colouring the icy tundra

Illuminating a city landscape

Whether it’s across the river

Or behind the gas works

It’s a magical time

A special time

It’s my favourite time

When the sun sets

DAWN

The distant mountains

Pale in the mist

Reach up to the sky like children

Waiting to be kissed

 

As the sun comes slowly into view

It turns the vast sky blue

Birds awaken bright as the day

As if to chase the night away

THE ABERGELE ROADS

At dusk we walk slowly by the shoreline

The waves lapping at the sand break gently

While children play among the craggy rock pools

Or happily skimming stones on the sea

Dogs chase balls as we stand to consider,

The tide is it in, or out, no matter

The setting sun lights up the western sky

Illuminating stray clouds with gold strands

Then surrounding them with bright bursting rays

This sunburst silhouettes the beachcombers

Then blinds us all as it hits the wet sand

As quickly as it burst on us it was gone

Until we are blinded by the next one

Before the horizon swallows the sun

BEAR NECESSITIES

 

When in the North America forests

On holiday

Carry with you a whistle

And a can of pepper spray

Because you might meet a bear

 

A small bear eats mainly fruit

And the occasional squirrel

And can be easily scared away

With a sharp blast on your whistle

That’s how to deal with a small bear

 

A large bear won’t be frightened away

By a blast of your whistle

But a squirt of your pepper spray

Will do the trick not a lot just a little

That’s how to deal with a large bear

 

You can check if bears are in the area

By examining their droppings

If it smells of fruit

And contains squirrel fur

Then it was deposited by a small bear

 

However, if the more dangerous large bear

Left its deposit along the way

It will probably contain a whistle

And it will smell of pepper spray