The Goose and the Peacock
The goose, head held high, squawking,
Chased the peacock across the lane
In front of our car. We stopped and watched.
The peacock with long tail feathers flew up
To the top of an old stone farm wall
Where it perched, above the grass verge.
The white goose stood in the middle of the lane
Oblivious to our car confronting it.
Amazingly the peacock seemed to be a greater threat
To the goose than the car that could have
Taken its life had I chosen to press
The accelerator down and drive on.
Occasionally the lives of wildlife and men cross,
Like this startling incident of survival,
Territory, and being blind to others.
When the peacock disappeared over the wall
The goose, head high, still squawking,
Waddled back to its side of the lane
And passed proudly through the hedge.
Nature had made a statement that fascinated us,
And forced me into making a sudden decision.
March 2012.
Copyright by D. J. Brennan, Derbyshire.
