One Poem by Lynda Tavakoli

 

Pigeon Food

This morning, in the soft beauty

of my garden, I fed seed to the birds.

Pheasants, blue tits, robins

and a single woodpecker,

some long-tailed tits, a murderhood of crows, 

two magpies and a jackdaw chick.

But no pigeons.

 

Later, on the television news,

and in that place

where birdsong’s

scorched mouth drones

the skies in open stealth,

I find where all those hungry

disappeared have flown.

 

A peoplehood of humankind

and last among the pecking-order list,

they are being offered pigeon food for their breakfast.

Lynda Tavakoli lives in County Down, Northern Ireland, where she facilitates an adult creative writing class and is a tutor for the Seamus Heaney Award for schools.

A poet, novelist and freelance journalist, Lynda’s writings have been published in the UK, Ireland, the US and the Middle East, with Farsi and Spanish translations. She has been winner of both poetry and short story prizes in Listowel, The Westival International Poetry Prize and runner- up in The Blackwater International Poetry Competition and Roscommon Poetry Competition.

Her poems have also appeared in The Irish Times, New Irish Writing. Lynda’s debut poetry collection, ‘The Boiling Point for Jam’ is published by Arlen House and includes these three poems about the different aspects of war.