Crowded Conglomerations

The pigeons bluster,

bullying robins and sparrows,

pretending their gang

can call the shots until the starlings

come and sweep them all away.

A rook, shoulders hunched,

scans the lawn with hangdog eye,

as morning’s gentle rain

caresses each glistening blade,

summoning worms to teatime.

A pair of blackbirds

proudly promenade their chick.

Insolently they

stare back, greedily gobbling

husks from the feeder above.

The trembling finches

seek asylum with cuckoos.

Magpies cease mischief

and sparrows mend their quarrels

when murdering crows pass by.