After the photograph ‘Feral Spirits’ by Sam Hobson
horseshoe clouds close in
over the solid
formation of headstones
adding night
to the stone cold
immobility of the past
a flock
of rose-ringed parakeets
wings over
the faint glow of streetlights
luminous, warm-blooded
consumed by motion
red-beaked immigrants
their brilliance defies
the cool earth
olive green and yellow-feathered
thousands seek roosting trees
to saturate with sound
a cherub huddles
at the base of a stone
ground-dweller, oblivious
to a parakeet sky
the birds’ ghostly trails forging
a new and vibrant history
