Goldfinch

Early morning 7 a m,

Swilililipping, skipilipping ceased,

From next-door neighbour’s alder tree,

Airily, bouncily, down-swoops

Goldfinch -

Head striped black, red and white;

Wings black with broad bar yellow bright -

Followed by a second

And a third,

Beaks steeled to pinpoint, pilfer, pinch,

Patiently sown seeds from flower bed

Newly stripped of weeds.

As bold as brass, heads high; shoulders back,

Strutting their stuff, Royal Logistics Corps-like,

Probing here, prodding there, with military precision,

Before reaching a decision, to search for seeds

Elsewhere.