BBA & HBWC Administrator
Andrea Reece
30 Winton Avenue, London, N11 2AT
Tel: 0208 889 1292
Mob: 07807 893369
Email: branford.boase@gmail.com
Press Enquiries
Andrea Reece
Tel: 07807 893369 | Email: branford.boase@gmail.com
A kingfisher is the narrator of this poem, but it is the author who made the excellent choice of an elusive and stunningly dazzling bird, to typify the essence of ‘presence’. This poem skilfully combines expressive vocabulary, kennings and free verse to create an internal image as bright as the real creature. As the final line says: Never forget Kingfisher nor the joy to be alive.
I am Kingfisher, fish-killer, bright jewel of riverbank,
I wait from my tree ‘till I torpedo my attack.
You see me as a blur of motion, a pop of colour,
a life-sized drop of wonder.
A bird elemental, like fire or thunder.
I brighten the dirtiest canal as you look up, entranced.
By the time you shout and point, I’ve vanished from my branch.
Call me feathered astonishment, bright laughter with wings.
Exquisitely made as a diamond wedding ring.
When you see me, you cannot help but smile –
again, the world is beautiful, if just for a while.
I am Kingfisher, magic bird, enchanter.
As I dive your soul jumps in to follow after.
As we drop from our branch, as we fall, as we spin;
you see me, in water and air I am king.
To these fish I am Death, full stop, the end.
To you I’m a pretty bird on the riverbend.
I am never-miss, killer, inescapable.
To you and your pollution I am easily breakable.
Yet there’s something about me, I know
With the wonder of a flame, or fresh fallen snow.
You may be sad and grey and near the end –
But when you hear my call, see me,
the world is light and good again.
No matter how much you change,
how far you fly,
never forget Kingfisher,
nor the joy to be alive.