The swift
by Barrie Neller


Harbingers of a welcome spring
Fearlessly they plummet from a tiny nest
Some fly for years without a single rest
Eating, mating,sleeping - each essential thing
Performed upon a scythe-shaped wing
Braving storms, these creatures must be blessed
So big a heart in such a tiny breast
We crave the message these heralds bring
Cruel winter's hold is nearly done
Fair England's green once more will be alive
Her bleak and frozen shadows all but gone
As pent-up energy begins again to thrive
In field and forest, sedge grass, hedge and hive
The swift directs our thanks toward the sun.






Copyright © 2024 by Red River Review. First Rights Reserved. All other rights revert to the authors.
No work may be reproduced or republished without the express written consent of the author.