This poem was written at HMP Highpoint South in the deep winter of January 2016. Everything stood still and silent in early morning except for the scavenging birds feeding on food thrown out of the window vents of the wing opposite. Actually, one of my favourites because I can still remember the feeling of satisfaction gained from watching that frozen wasteland in such an apparent peace before the day started.
Frost Birds
Cold clear skies, carpet crystal thick
Frost on surface; sun-drenched roof
Concrete, fence and red-brown brick
Feathered friends remain aloof
Breakfast! Food through vents ejected
Swooping groundwards, the fight for life
Leaving little nourishment rejected
Seldom sign of airborne strife
Blackbirds, pigeons, starlings, crows
Light white sun on ice
Even as the brightness grows
Devouring last night’s grains of rice
Seabirds join the flying circus
Blown in from stormy, North Sea shore
Circling above with sense of purpose
Screeching seagulls cry for more
Gathering round the heat extracted
From buildings housing men of guilt
Pigeon preening, proud enacted
Crows are crowding on barracks built
To shame those inside whose lives are blighted
Who crave life’s simple sights and smells
Envy of fair freedom, flighted
Through windows barred of seedy cells
O, for the wings of a wondrous dove
That we might different landscapes see
To view the world from skies above
As birds fly fleeting, feeling free
To feed upon the food that fell
To make our nests from what we find
To hear the sounds, their tale to tell
To leave these prison walls behind