This week’s poem, inspired by Sri Lanka and nature and small green birds, which have been on my mind and in my vision a lot lately. Also a substantial nod to a faintly remembered and recently rediscovered poem by Emily Dickinson call ‘Hope is the thing with feathers’.

Hope

Small green bird fluttering across unfocused vision,
quivering amongst leaves and expectant flowers.
Gleam of tiny feather, fluffing roundly in cool mornings,
sleek as flying, anticipate that thing
with feathers on.
That thing that is nothing; only oxygen to lungs,
sunlight to plants, water to fish,
insignificant as a seed;
a small green bird.

Across unfocused eyes flutters grey-green gleam,
fluffing roundly in cool air, sleekly flying.
That thing with feathers on,
nothing but oxygen, sunlight, water,
a seed;
a small green bird

Flutter of green gleam, fluffing roundly, sleekly flying,
that thing with feathers on.
Oxygen, sunlight, water, seed;
small green bird

That thing with feathers on,
a small green bird

Sri Lanka 2016