St James' Park

Thirty-four Norwgians pass me by

Led by a red umbrella and behind

Two flags to keep the stragglers in check

And stop them getting lost as they all wind

Their way towards the Palace down the Mall.

A squirrel draws attention to itself

Posing in the tree and snatching food

From cooing tourists easily engulfed

By urban wildlife and the scruffy flocks

Of pigeons grabbing everything in sight.

I sit, ignored as they all wander by

Happy to indulge the summer light.

A lull, a moorhen scurries from the lists

Dipping at crumbs the docile pigeons missed.

Brian Hick summer 2009

©copyright Sally Hick 15.8.22