Cruel

awful scene

The devastation was total

 a macabre

pot pourri of 

her young

the lucky ones

didn't see it coming

couldn't have

mother stood 

at the roadside

Her keening

piercing my soul

the perpetrator

of the wickedness

still present

seemingly unperturbed

by the carnage

all around

I did not bid usual

good wishes 

to this murderer

whose onyx beak 

bore blood and 

broken shell 

clues to the crime 

Author's Note

I saw a magpie raid on a tiny birds nest in my tree. The nesting pair showed great courage in trying to fend off the much bigger predator but it was useless. The magpie raid devastated the nest that I was watching for weeks.

Reviews

[jacob erin-cilberto]

what a vivid depiction---and this is so universal the way you wrote it...many species devour their young in one way or another...especially humans.

j.

[Max Swinden]

clues to the crime. what a way to end. good job

[Poetic License]

Oh my heavens - this made me feel terrible!!! I just literally caught my breath. Your writing went straight to my mommy-emotional centers and stayed here. Your delivery of the scene is perfect. The hints of gruesome. The heartache so present without being spoken. Such talent. You painted an amazing scene, even if it did make me quite literally pull back from the screen.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

You capture this scene so well Tony. The description and the detail provide mystery and yet clarity as the act of nature causes such horror.

[Tony Jordan]

Ahh John - it was tragic. Even with headphones on I could clearly hear the constant twittering of the wee mother bird. Like a wailing banshee.
Thank you my friend.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Hi Tony, you seem to have gone underground again?