Poem for the Day: Ladybird (from Miniscule) ©

Ladybird

At the courtyard cafe,
after we had sat down to lunch
and were deeply engrossed
in the board menus,
those exotic meals
that no one understands the name of

a wagtail flipped around
at our feet.
listening to the origins
of Golding's Lord of the Flies.

At the same time, as we finished
our Chorizo, Red Shakshuka, and
several glasses of Shiraz,
a ladybird hopped
onto the neck of a coffee cup.
She proceeded to fly
from one zone to another
her wings engaged, throttle ready, as if
she was Nancy Bird-Walton
on a transpacific crossing
that reeked of occasion.

It was a windy day
and after some hesitation
circling a wavering line
of acrid smoke,
it was better
to shrink that wide world
into a lady's handbag
where she looked long and hard
into its interior, possibly
for breadcrumbs
or anything else for that matter
of interest.

Images by Helen Hagemann (c)  2012