DUBROVNIK: 'AMOUS: WITHOUT FEET...'

 Amous: Without Feet…

(WHITE SWIFTS IN DUBROVNIK…)

I looked up,

Where above and beyond

Silhouetted Dubrovnik bats,

Larger creatures in the dusk sky dominated,

Like fighter aircraft without pity,

Swooping and diving

Over their target city

And its fearful stray cats and its oblivious humanity.

They whipped fast trails, shrieking in flight,

Taking prey on unbending wing;

They slipped into cracks in walls and contrived 

To feed screaming, hungry chicks:

‘Amous’, without feet, these agitated White Swifts

Clung to the ancient stone, contrite…

Then, like black pyrotechnic stars,

Against a pale May sky,

They spilled out

And arced and arrowed and were acrobatically 

Strewn about.

And in awe still, fascinated

I looked up…

Pete Ray

The brilliant, wonderful White Swifts in Dubrovnik… 

Low flight apparently suggests a change of weather, or pending rain, whereupon they descend to cooler air.

The inhabitants rely on the return of these fabulous birds each May to ensure peace…

‘Amous’ is the Greek word for ‘without feet’ and that describes these fliers perfectly…