Canaries at Tiagua



The uphill track lies drought hard,

Wispy clouds below exhale slowly,

By December's skyline,


Our world is washed of colour,

Slurred in mist,

I slip through the gap,


The unhinged gate,

Lies pointless against the volcanic wall,

It's five timber bars,

Traced with intricate lichen, 

Weather and time-worn,


I trace my path across,

This unloved field of picon,

Stone and trampled gorse,


A brittle silhouette of prickly pear,

Scratches the skyline,


Suddenly a flock of canaries,

More than I have ever seen,

Lifts through the lightening air,

This gesture, an anacrusis, 

Releases the day's first song.



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