Conyer Copyright © 08 Paul Jenkins

The skyline is battleship grey,
enveloping a low table-topped hill
like some marooned island

In the foreground,
the tufted, feathered heads of the reeds
sway on long, skinny bamboo stems;

and in the fawn coloured reed beds
an avery of brown finches
chatter and chafe,
prattle and purr;
a skylark twittering,
oscillating overhead.

Bramble bushes
crouch on the sides of the drainage ditches
like giant tortoises;
and the frothy, cream cauliflower heads of hawthorn
line either side of the path through the dark woods.

Far,
far off,
traffic and machinery buzz
and busy themselves.