4

I thought it would be quiet when the rush

Of children had exploded  from the school

But turning into Elder Drive, the hush

I had expected was quite over-ruled

By starlings massed along the aerials,

Atop the plane trees, on the bungalows,

Twittering in a flap of eagerness

Until, as if commanded, they arose

To sweep across the evening sky in bursts

Of darkened stars, as suddenly unseen

As if they held the gift of light within

Their power, while I alone am left to dream

          The joy of such companionship in flight

          From silence to the echo of the night.

Brian Hick November 2010

©copyright Sally Hick 14,11,22