"Violence at the Egg"
Flurried matted natal down feather listings A Nest now blood congealed on the twig
The last flight of the leaving parents winged shadow remains as if in silhouette
Troubled ants cover it hold up broken shells as mort flags
These ants shadow lay as lace on a before first flight fledgling dying
Feather lice dislodge to devour this sad bird
Amniotic visions grey shapeless flight falling permeates the atmosphere
Receding branches perches retract further into treeless gloamings
Leaden as stone forever grounded to the soaring out of sight flock
No diurnal sun hovering wind blown seed cracking seed insect scratch
As the bird shudders shell crumbles egg teeth jewels in feathered decay
The least damaged eye stares into the abandoned nest in memory
The other dangles above a broken wing gazing out past unnatural hues
Blood and loss beak spits grotesque to shape a sound and try's to tweet
In the sacred calcium eggs in clutch we future nestlings
Under the cooing comfort of the hens covering wing
We laid in shared incubation in dried saliva and grassy mud
The lift the gliding flapping hovering our future
Our eyes grow larger than our brains we are life cycle
Heavy brooded rain shells sprinkled moonlight specked
Thunder drones across the flight ribboned sky the nest warm
Heads hidden beneath the wing statue like to the storm
Lightning strikes the shells
Conjoined beaks crack the shells fledglings are born into nesty love
Rostrum' s snapping at air deluge deflected by parental wings
Fervid joy night fallen swaying in feathered tenderness
From the first pangs our future warbling throats were stuffed
Lids open vision came all sight was enthralling to the edge of the nest
All fledglings in non rival to each other the egg balance the sacred egg
Together shuddering our bodies merged we thought there flew a hawk
Beaks rise in natures order mother gives one to one to one
Wing in wing our feet create stairs in turn we see there is more than sky
An apology for expanding nature creating our separation wing growth
One arises opens their wings tumble over the dawn and the down
Thermals swirling the breeze's nervous whispers unsettles the tree
Leaves quiver eddy in whirlwind float as wooden mourners around the nest
Father flown his frame feathers now as moonbird beak star filled spilling
Mothers eyes looking back nest view fledglings at nest leaving
The thrusting first fledgling suspends on the edge jerking back strikes the sibling
Blood spurts into the surprised sibling eye lid rebounds horror
Skull chips a flailing storm of pecks falls to nest bottom
Feet of my flyers squash as falling branches eye to eye the looking through gaze
Broken body twitches moribund on twigs broken shell and excreta rise votive
Blowflies now accusers cast maggots as stones at the flying away assailant
Mother frozen in expected grief sparkled sky the departing blood birds
Brush in haste her side father gone lost in his uncaring plumage
The corpse so still as only left life can be
Lice ants nature raise the corpse
Damaged spirit flares ..........
Roibeard (Robert) Shanahan
I am of Irish descent, family from Bantry, West Cork
I am a painter, a poet and a playwright
For me life is compassion and expression
I reside in Tasmania in a little seaside village
I was awarded high commendation in the WB Yeats poetry prize Australia
Irish Writing :: Table of Contents, May 2017
