Calm Jenny

Calm Jenny, never in a flap.

Always takes life easy,

Keeps a breezy disposition.

Cool as a cucumber, she,

Watching the world, knowingly.

Settles herself in the centre,

Tucks her head beneath a wing,

While all around her bicker, grumble,

She stays apart, thinking her own thoughts.

Nought to trouble her but the breeze.

'See me, see me!' says Gerald,

Herald to the bright new day.

'See me, see my colourful breast,

'Aren’t you impressed by my feathery crest?'

Jenny turns her head away,

A disparaging remark remains unsaid.

What’s this she sees through half-closed eye?

A commotion at the fringe? Why?

A cur approaches, sly, and treacherous,

Glossy coat belying ill intent,

Hell bent on an easy repast,

To break his daytime fast.

Her companions fly, cowards all.

Gerald wavers, wondering and,

Considering the danger, takes wing.

He's no fool.

Left at the mercy of the sly stranger,

Jenny doesn’t flinch. Moves, not an inch,

Fixing the miscreant with just one eye.

'You have something you'd care to try?'

The would-be assassin hesitates,

Not sure how to estimate this unflappable bird.

Absurd, it is, that so diminutive a thing

Should challenge him, top predator.

Calm Jenny doesn’t move,

Proving her fortitude.

'You still here?' she asks. 'Time to go away.'

Leaving, he vows to return another day.

'Hey! Mr Foxy...' she says.

He turns his head.

'...Bye-bye!'

Shaking it, he stalks off.

Calm Jenny returns to a sweet repose,

Knows she is safe from a troubled world.

Soon, the others return, ranging themselves around her,

To continue the day’s business.

With a sweep around of her half-closed eye,

She closes it another quarter.

Lost in a bliss, daughter of dreams.

Jenny rouses, just a smidgen,

Catching a glimpse of the timid Gerald,

She waves her beak, as if to beckon.

Reckons he will take the hint.

'Come sit by me, pretty bird.'

He hesitates... 'Yes, sit with me,' she says,

'You heard me correctly...

'Sit here, and quit your chattering,

'No more self-flattering.

'Silence, and be still.'

O ~ o ~

Are you from Beckenham?

If you are, you probably clicked on the link from the BAG Facebook group. What do you think? I'm never sure whether to post this sort of stuff or not. Do you want to read more Beckenham tales, in verse or not? Please let me know by commenting on BAG or PM me if you’d prefer.

Thanks for reading

Ray