PETIT DEJEUNER

Yellow green and gold
Finches chatter the
Early morning news
Amidst the misted stillness
Of the dew-rich dawn.

Then comes a Bulbul
To the terrace; and with a flash
Fast capturing from the air
A passing moth, she then
Before my eyes, dissects it
Wing from wing, and deftly
Turns and eats it whole:
Such is the brutal truth
Of nature in which beauty
Claims its sacred space.

So I to my breakfast
Make my pondering way
Past scented frangipani,
While high above, a hawk hangs
Motionless upon the morning air.


St Julian's Retreat Centre,
Limuru, Kenya
April 2014