Today I flung back the curtain
blocking out the cold
to let in the sun.
There, on the far wall –
after being so elusive for weeks –
a Cape Robin perched.
She spied me,
the white stripe above her eye
stark in the shadows.
Then, she hopped away
along the back neighbour’s wall.
Just a fleeting glimpse!
I caught myself exclaiming with breathless delight,
and sat transfixed by the unexpected, joyful surprise.
The robin hopped back along the wall,
and then turned and hop … hop … hopped swiftly
across the other neighbour’s wall
and then down and away.
A sudden flash of orange in the sun.
What is there in my neighbour’s yard,
behind the grey, grey walls?
Shall I carry some water to our cross point
to lure back my Sweet One?
Ah, no, she is gone!
Singing freedom’s song
in some other lovely corner.
Bridget Tinniswood, 26 June 2020