The Bird Poem by Gert Strydom

We were walking in the park,
our little zoo of dogs and you and me.

One was splashing in the stream,
swimming like a huge black beaver,

the little one barked from the bank
as if encouraging and telling the others what to do,

one was sniffing the trees, looking for a spot
as if surprised at what she got,

one was looking out for other people
as if someone could suddenly draw a knife

and come challenging with it
staying aware as if guarding us

and then a bird came out of nowhere,
appeared in the air above me,

decided that my head
was a great place to rest

and at the last moment fluttered up
changing landing orders to that of flight.