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Thursday 30 August 2012

You wouldn't believe...

Mid-morning coffee.
Mesmerised, we watch
the upper spikes of next door's buddleia
cavorting in a kind of war dance
high above our six foot fence.

Stems and spikes
swing wildly through the sky or curtsy,
genuflect, are wrenched from sight
with genuine aggression and surprise -
only to spring back again,
to go on waving as before,
to tell the world they're still okay.

What, we wonder, is disturbing them?
Something far too heavy for the stems...
something unsupportable...
A cat perhaps... a skittish cat... a cat
with thoughts of ambush
hiding from the birds.
Hiding from the birds? it's driving them
away! A weasel someone says...
Surreal - and weasels do not climb.
A rat? My wife sees what she thinks
might be a curly tail - the tip, no more...
A squirrel then? Why would a squirrel
do its best to ravage, flatten and lay waste
my neighbour's buddleia?

And then we see
the stems are fewer than before. They do not
spring back now the way they did.
Beavers! I joke, but no one laughs.
We can't let this go on...
I bravely leave
my coffee to its fate
and walk down to the garden gate
and open it...
Investigate!
Good morning! says a guy with loppers
stuffing chopped-up buddleia stems
into a plastic bag.
I've never seen the chap before:
my neighbour (new) is not - or might 
not be - a single mother after all...

14 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Brave indeed to investigate. I hope you and the buddliea mutilator had a good chat. Neighbours are not what they were...

Mary said...

This made me smile, Dave. A human can accomplish a lot of destruction with loppers!

Anonymous said...

Ha! A lot of fun here! k.

jabblog said...

Oo-er - I hope he's not going to destroy all the greenery in his garden.

Brian Miller said...

ha, fun in a suspenseful kinda way...funny how perception plays tricks on us...with the fauna and with the neighbors...smiles.

Leovi said...

Very interesting, yes, if you think, a good poem. Greetings.

Helen said...

I couldn't imagine where you were leading us (down the garden path) .. humorous and fun to read, Dave.

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Dave,

What a mid-morning revealation, with the sighting of the lesser spotted human, of the male origin:)

I expected that it may have been another escaped tiger!!!

Eileen

michelle said...

You had me going there... right until the end!
Nice touch of humour too.

David Cranmer said...

Very enjoyable, Dave.

haricot said...

I enjoyed the comfortable and a little bit surreal morning, Dave.

Dave King said...

The Elephant's Child
We didn't chat for too long - my coffee was getting cold! I agree with you re neighbours, but not even sure if he is one. Maybe my neighbour's husband or boy friend, but I don't think he's a neighbour.

Mary
Indeed - and in a very short time! But it doesn't quite explain what was happening to the buddleia beforehand.

manicddaily
We certainly had a good laugh afterwards.

jabblog
Well, he did plant a crab apple tree...

Brian
Sure was a misperception that time around!

Leovi
Thanks again.

Helen
I wasn't sure when I set out to go down the garden path.

Eileen
Now that would not have surprised me in the least!

michelle
Hi, Welcome and thanks for your contribution.

David
Thanks as always.

haricot
Thanks for saying so. Yes, a little bit of surreal in what was mostly comfort.


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