The first week we lived
in our new neighbourhood
I heard the happy shouts
and squeals of children
playing in the streets
and empty blocks around
And then one evening before sunset
I saw the cockatoo
from where all the raucous calling came...
I went out to talk to him
as he sat in a palm tree
in my yard
and he grabbed
a couple of leaves of the palm
and swung around upside down...
twirling...
spinning...
like a trapeze artist in a circus
what a show off you are Mr Cocky
He belongs to a family close by
and has frequent sorties
about the neighbourhood
This beautiful Plumeria in my yard
begins as a red bud
and as it unfurls the red
seems to appear
on one side of the petal only
what a beauty...
this one is a soft pinky whitewhen unfurled
but the simple yellow centred plumeriaremains my favourite *
