Over the last five weeks, we've loved showcasing some of our favourite coast- and nature-inspired poetry from Cornish writer Bethan Laurels. This is the fifth and final piece from Bethan in her series.

 

As the tide turns

As the tide turns

The day breaks

The sun rises

You adorn your guises

 

With the wash of the waves

Comes new light

The breaking sound

Of your morning flight

 

You lift your wings

With the chill of the untouched air

Sending ripples through your feathers

Awakening your soul, all you bear

 

One by one

One after the other, as if set by a clock

Group by group

Here comes the flock

 

Travel high

Travel low

Different heights

To the place you go

 

From hidden cove to open cliff

Night dwellings to day abodes

From graceful rest to heated chase

Calm creatures to hunters bold

 

Do you flow with the current

Or battle the breeze

Are you alerting your senses

Or fighting a freeze

 

Do you ever awake

With no desire to move

Do you lift your eyes

And wish for the moon

 

All the travel you make

Is it due to the flock

That you open your eyes

And shift from the rocks

 

If they left you behind

Would you be at a loss

Do you yearn to hide

And find your own spot

 

When they lift from their nests

Do you pray they won't turn

Head over land

Leaving you free to learn

Bethan says:

"Living by the sea has had me rise with the sun and settle as it sets. With this I came to learn the movement of the birds and their call. I would know the direction they would go for their day of food or their night of rest in their cliffside nests. It was both fascinating and settling. This poem came along as I sat and watched one morning."