Whale Song

13/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Have you heard the whale song

Drifting on the currents

Calling out a mournful tune

To the far reaches of the ocean?



Have you heard the bat screech

Echoing off its surrounds

As it flies deftly amongst the trees

In search of bugs on the wing?



Have you heard the lion roaring

As it protects its pride

From young pretenders

Who might start a leadership brawl?



Have you heard the cattle lowing

As they stare up at the moon

Wishing they could leap so high

And not be grounded by reality?



Have you heard the monkeys scream

From treetops threatened by destruction,

The noise of chainsaws and woodchippers

Almost too much for these primates?



Have you heard the wolf howl

Long and loud into the night,

Through woods and valleys

They stalk for their prey?



Have you heard the donkeys braying

From fields and paddocks far and wide

Their work not yet done today

To make our lives easier?



Have you heard the cicada chirp

After so long underground

Escaping to call and breed

And to die within weeks?



Have you heard the pig snort,

It’s joy at vegetable scraps

Undeniable and heart-warming

As it tucks into the swill?



Have you heard the kangaroo chortle

As it bounds merrily over red rocks

And fences meant to contain them

But have no hope of doing so?



Have you heard the elephant trumpet

As it crashes through the trees

That fall and snap like twigs underfoot

And the pack moves ever onwards?



Have you heard the toad croaking

It’s baleful plea to be loved

And seen as elegantly beautiful

As its amphibious cousins are?



Have you heard the raven caw,

Black as the night,

Rooted in the stories of the dark

And creating magic with every sound?



Have you heard the bee buzz

As it flits from flower to flower,

Laden with pollen to help regenerate

The wild and untamed meadows?



Have you heard the owl hoot

With its haunting cry carrying

From barn to barn

As it searches for mice?



Have you heard the hyena laughing,

Cackling with excitement

Over the thrill of the chase

As they race across the savannah?



Have you heard the magpie chatter

While it sits on high remarking

On all the lovely heads below

And which one it will dive bomb next?



Have you heard the lambs bleat

Calling for their mothers

Wanting attention and milk

As they frolic between the haystacks?



Have you heard the pigeon coo

From roof tops and window sills

As they eye off statues And unsuspecting pedestrians?

Let’s walk together

06/01/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Let’s walk together, side by side,

Alone together, you and I

Along the shore as day breaks

Wandering under a golden sky



As the sun peaks its head

Over the horizon out at sea

The rocks do glow ‘neath my foot

Radiant and warming under me



We’ll pass by purple periwinkles

Their little shells so fine

Coiled so very beautifully

Along the rocky shoreline



We’ll step delicately over lichens

Being careful not to slip

On mosses firmly holding tight

To rocks where they do dip



In the small and shallow pools

Left by receding tides

Barnacles cling tirelessly

To submerged and sunken sides



There’ll be limpets by the thousand

Holding fast to the bare rock

Awaiting the tide to rise

Like a ship at the dry dock



Cautious crabs, in the meanwhile,

Will scurry away and hide

But we’ll be able to spot one

If our time we carefully bide



If we’re lucky we’ll get to see

Urchins spiky and small

Tucked up into crevices

By the battered, old sea wall



In those deep and darker pools

Anemones might be found

Flowers of the ocean

Waratahs tightly bound



Further still is the golden sand

Untrampled by festive feet

While seagulls search the seaweed

For something tasty for them to eat



Be mindful where you tread, my friend,

There are things the sting and bite

They lurk in the seaweed washed ashore

The pain of which will set your foot alight



Out on the sand lies yet more pain

If you’re bare foot should happen to touch

The tentacles stretched out behind the jelly –

The blue bottle really is too much.



There are glorious things around here

The brilliant red of a starfish or two

Glistening in the breaking day

The water adding magic to its hue



The early morning swimmers

Brave the ocean pools cool water

Their cossies hug them tightly

Their colourful caps pulled tauter



They should be on the lookout, though,

As they clamber in and out

For little blue ringed octopus

Find homes here round about



If they’re lucky they’ll see below them

Small fish going about their day

Not interested in their human companions

Except when they get in the way



As you look out across the waves

A fin or a tail may flicker by

And if by chance you may happen to glimpse

A dolphin leaping to the sky



Sometime there are pods of whales

Snaking up this all too familiar coast

One day I’ll take you out in my yacht

To watch these majestic beasts boast



What you don’t really want to see

At least when playing in the break

Is a shark hunting for a meal

Then you really know you’re awake



So, let’s walk together, you and I,

Along this superbly stunning way

That causes my heart to flutter

More and more each day