Poem – Birdsong

Birdsong

 

I’d rather be, somewhere in the country 

Listening to bird song, all day long

 

But I can’t get away 

From the sound of road noise 

There seems to be no choice 

Wherever I go

 

And planes that sound like tractors 

That fly anywhere 

Without a care 

For the disturbance they bring 

 

So, I want to be,somewhere in the country 

Listening to bird song, all day long 

 

But for the sound of machines 

Like the Singleton oil well

With its pungent smell 

Where no bird sings 

 

And the cracks of the guns 

Of the barbaric shoot 

Killing birds for a hoot

Deadening the birds call 

 

So, I need to be, somewhere in the country 

Listening to bird song, all day long

 

Tom Broughton, August 2021