Poems: Aerial migrations
Daytime and night-time aerial migrations are the inspiration for this week’s Poet’s Corner contributions from James Walton and Nicholas Perkins.
In the whimsy of cockatoos (James Walton)
sulphur-crested whites, merging flocks
They are late this morning
a cacophony from the south-east
two relayed arcs
boisterous in their shining
in axis out of a woad sky
shouting of pillage
where the pines topple into ocean
now an altitude of scythes
making delay a past
beat cumulous shields
converge for instruction
maul out the link
flailing from a lemon sulphur pavlova
to peel away in renewed certainty.
Bat time (Nicholas Perkins)
fruit bats, nightly migration
When I remember,
I watch at night
your unerring wanderings,
the clockwork of stones
whose ancient sounds
stir your urge to leave.
Fig trees shake themselves
of leather-winged leaves
and now the night’s in darker armour,
broad span.
Immortal code of ultra-song
lights lines through darkness.
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When I remember,
I watch
your unfailing followings,
but brow pressed
cold to glass,
knock blind
at your world
of senses.
James Walton lives on Victoria’s Bass Coast. A former librarian, cattle breeder and public-sector union official he has been published in anthologies, journals and newspapers as well as authoring four poetry collections, with a fifth forthcoming. Shortlisted for the ACU National Poetry Prize, MPU International Poetry Prize, James Tate Prize and Ada Cambridge Prize, he has also been a nominee for ‘The Best of the Net’ 2019, and Pushcart Prize 2021.
Nicholas Perkins lives in Sydney. Working in education, he has been a primary school principal with a background that also crosses the arts, neuroscience and behavioural ecology. His poems have appeared in various online publications including ‘Blue Bottle Journal’, ‘Mantissa Poetry Review’, ‘Minison Zine’, ‘Rye Whiskey Review’, ‘Chasing Shadows Magazine’, and previously in Poet’s Corner.