Darning

 

I saw two birds darning a tree,

with winged eye and point

in looping swoops, using invisible

thread flown through branches

left unwoven by winter.

 

It happens fast, this job:

anchor points, intersections,

reclaimed fabric tufts pierced

and sutured at the leaves till

the tree is fixed for nesting.

 

Our ellipses were longer that day,

called out, as we were, by sunshine

like the birds—my circuit out

to the coast, yours inland,

both of us flying the knot.

 

True, our orbits had diverged

recently; we’d dragged curved

messages about the house,

towed them like aerial banners,

but it was a joy to tie the bow again.

 

 

John Kefala Kerr is a British Greek sound artist and writer. His work has featured at festivals and venues in the UK, Europe, USA and Japan. His poetry is published by Live Canon and Arachne Press and his debut novel Thimio’s House is published by Roundfire Books.