FLYPAST
Though mostly obscured by the rocky headland
at the mouth of the inlet, the piping
whistles of a small flock of oyster catchers
could be heard throughout the day, and most
of each evening too. One late afternoon
a trio of these stocky birds with their
slightly fussy call flew in formation past
our balcony piping away – on show
red beaks, pink feet, white rumps. And I thought
how seldom things rhyme in our dissonant
world, and that – to roughly paraphrase
Aristotle – coincidences merely
are accidents that rhyme.
John Huddart
July 31, 2025Smart observation!