tarred & feathered, nay
december 8, 2012, howick domain
re-edited march 2023
the young
boys in white,
the cricket
crew, are
out there
on the field,
leaning
into it,
king magpie,
pride of
our domain,
is watching
from the
the oval
mark, hands
behind his
back, noting
all that white
is fine but
simply doesn’t
cut it without
a counter strike
of black he
would swipe
himself, in
person
down them
leaning forward
head to toe
in one
abrupt
stroke
of wing,
neither
tar nor feathers
needed, just
indian ink
sufficient,
turns away
at last
with more
important things
to do there
in the grass,
criss-cross that
map of clouds
way above
the mown
green.
Copyright © 2023 Peter Le Baige. All Rights Reserved
Click on the link above to hear reading of the poem. The accompanying music is from ‘The Hen’, the second of the birds described in Ottorino Respighi’s series of musical portraits, ‘The Birds’.
Ruru ki Te Ruru 