The lesser black-backed gull
The gull
on the meadow
taps her little yellow feet
like a shovel-snouted lizard
dancing on a floor of lava,
a unicyclist balancing on the spot
fixated on her singular task.
No herring here
in the meadow
though the sea is but yards away,
the pitter patter of feet
beckons earthworms
to the light of day
and after three minutes have elapsed
she devours the feast
and then again she taps
on the meadow
indefatigable
as the creatures of the earth
surface though the rain never comes
yet in the distance,
over Arran’s roguish peaks
a rainbow penetrates the mottled blue
and on the meadow
the gull tip taps anew.
Peter Bickerton is a writer, scientist and resident poet of Thought For Food. Peter’s poetry has featured on the BBC, Ink Sweat & Tears, and international multimedia. His poetry collections are Millennial and Thirty. Website: https://www.