Pipistrelle

By paddyjohnston

Sun, 12 Jun 2011

1204 reads

4 comments

Hundreds upon thousands of tiny bats
Are beating their thin wings
To welcome the night.

A flutter falls
As the darkness descends
And their voices call:
A nocturne at once urgent
And sedate, soft.

I stand alone,
High above the calm sea,
And close my eyes,
Pulling a blank canvas
Over the dwindling twilight.

The gentle waft of a thousand tiny wings
Is a quiet woodland majesty.

We may cut down trees and build cities by day
But the night belongs to the Pipistrelle.

Comments

reminds me a bit of (I think

Permalink Submitted by celticman on Sun, 2011-06-12 20:39

reminds me a bit of (I think it's D.H. Lawrence) Bats. Nicely done.

That's quite an accolade,

Permalink Submitted by paddyjohnston on Sun, 2011-06-12 21:58

That's quite an accolade, thanks! It is DH Lawrence indeed. Good knowledge. There's another amazing bat poem by Les Murray which partially inspired this, but I can't remember what it's called.

An evocative poem, paddy.

Permalink Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on Tue, 2011-06-14 19:11

An evocative poem, paddy. It was indeed D H Lawrence who wrote another inspiring bat poem, where he describes their wings, quite beautifully, as 'bits of umbrellas'. We have a few pipistrelles round this neck of the woods, and they are indeed mysterious little fellows. Sometimes we see them, sometimes we don't. Thanks for a great read;-) Tina

I really enjoyed this

Permalink Submitted by Beeme on Sun, 2011-10-30 13:49

I really enjoyed this Paddy. Beeme xx