Mousehole Gannet…
It might have been a Sopwith Camel
Shot down by a Fokker Eindecker
In a World War One dogfight,
Following slick turns and aerobatics
In a display of masterful flight,
Before losing power and dropping like a stone,
Gravity-pulled and plummeting into a wanton ocean:
An instant death in catastrophic motion…
It was, however a predatory gannet
Drawn down by a pilchard shoal
In Mounts Bay’s war of attrition,
Following fine turns and aerodynamics
In a theatre of charismatic precision,
Before folding wings and dropping like a dart,
Gravity-pulled and hurtling into sea’s myriad greens:
Preying upon seething, unsuspecting sardines…
Pete Ray
March 2020
Watching gannets plunge into the sea at Mousehole, reminded me of how 1st World War biplanes might have been shot down by enemy aces…
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