Poem for the Day - Purple Swamphens

Purple Swamphens

some purple hides near the tail

they go on making it from blue

gradually you become aware

of their bill in red, turquoise chest

to tiny face, white undertail,

brown and orange feet

the only purple is a distant view

of perfumed jacaranda

when purple is floral and warm

it settles on the sky over slatted roofs

when you go down to the water’s edge

Swamphens run in pairs, black tails

flicking Morse code amongst the reeds

an exquisite creature, runs a four-way spread

of feet as a fretwork to its flighty footwork

when purple socks hang to dry

you go on seeing that swamp-bird fly

not wade to the bank on the other side

purple socks fly in the wind, and when snug

inside your shoes, that space between foot

and cuff can’t be seen

much like the purple

on a black and Purple Swamphen 

Photographs by Helen Hagemann (c)