Ode to a Swallow

Your arrival in Spring, what joy you bring. A long, arduous flight, I gasp at your sight.

A 6000 miles journey, 200 miles a day, resting only briefly to feed on the way.

Back to your home, a mud nest in a barn, you nurture your young and keep them from harm.

Your melodious chatter, the sound of Spring, I long to tell you what joy you bring.

Weighing less than an ounce, a jewel of the sky, your aerial ballet, a treat for the eye.

Your dazzling sheen, your delicate tail feathers, airborne excellence whatever the weather.

Your brilliance continues throughout the summertime but the onset of Autumn is on your mind.

Soon you must leave, a long journey ahead, departing our shores, a time I dread.

Hurry back little swallow, I don’t want us to part, you may be gone from the skies but not from my heart.