MAGPIES AT A ROADSIDE CAFE

What a beautiful photo it would have made:
The bleached tree, the magpies, the distant shade;
Three pairs flirting on the naked branches,
Distant pairs skimming, taking their chances;
Smart livery of dazzling blue and white
Catches the eye: Oh, strutting, prancing sight!

But the photo wouldn’t exclude the downside:
Canteen rubbish no-one has tried to hide.
Cartons and bottles and scraps of food
Cover the field in a cardboard flood.
The strutting scavengers flash like jewels:
Brilliant life that this offal fuels.
The rubbish has brought them and keeps them fed,
Bright and bold on the field so dead.

What a beautiful photo life would make,
If only the rubbish were out of the ‘take’.