Startling Starlings

Feeling more relaxed this afternoon for some reason. Here’s a little poem inspired by a story on the BBC, “The man startling millions of starlings with lasers“.

Startling Starlings

I see they’re startling starlings now in Rome.
What’s next? Hawking hawks and renting wrens
in Trajan’s Market. I pity the swallows.

They’ll be robbing robins’ nests of their eggs
and ogling eagles as they pass on the street,
goosing the geese and making swans swoon.

I hope they’ll spare the sparrows.

About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is one of the organizers of Living Poetry, a collection of poets and poetry lovers in the Triangle region of North Carolina. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he makes money as a computer programmer to fund his poetry habit.
This entry was posted in Poetry and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Startling Starlings

  1. JeanMarie says:

    This is a lovely poem that gets better on a second or third read. Well done.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Lisa Tomey says:

    I pity the swallows too… well done.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a reply to Lisa Tomey Cancel reply