The Hide

10/02/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



I looked at the hide

And sighed one of those sighs

That said to everyone around

That I did not want to be there



Last time I’d been in one of these

I’d been a small child

Dragged along by my father

And told to be quiet all the time



I remember sitting in the dark

For hours on end

With nothing to do

But stare at the walls



I wasn’t even allowed

To alleviate my boredom

To look through the binoculars

At the passing birds



Even in the half light

From the barely open hatch

I could just make out the pictures

That covered the inside walls



I knew every parrot, lorikeet, cockatoo

Every wading bird and bird of prey

All the ducks and gulls that might fly by

And every other bird besides



I’d only said in passing, you know,

That I had gone birding with my dad

But that was enough to once again

Be dragged to sit for the longest time



We stepped inside and that familiar smell

Filled my nostrils and my lungs

Memories flashed of my father’s voice

Telling me what birds to tick off



But you didn’t have a little book

To tick off birds that you’d seen

Your bag was filled with different gear

For a different generation of enthusiast



You pulled out a pair of binoculars

And hung them around your slender neck

Then reached into the bag again

And handed your pride and joy



A camera with the biggest lens

That I had seen an amateur wield

And I cradled it gently as you explained

The basics and set the auto-focus



The hide was not so boring now

It was filled with excitement under wraps

As kingfishers swooped to steal a fish

And fairy wrens flitted by



Before too long sunset came

And the hide was filled with noises new

And I knew I was hooked

Just as my dad had been before