Fantail
The fantail perches
on the thin
wire
of the fence
chirping
angling
north
north-east
his long brown & white tail
spinning
twitching
like a baton. And then-
he lifts off
flitting in the cold morning
air
looping
& hovering
& chasing
& briefly
touching a mate
in mid-air
within my arm’s
length.
Skitting off-
he returns
instantly to sit
on the cow
paddock wire
before me-
only
to
fling himself outwards
in a wild loop
skimming the
ground.
And as I watch the fantail
I think about how free he is
& how detached
I have become.
George Anderson
George Anderson has
taught in New South Wales, Australia for over 30 years and is editor of Bold
Monkey Review, a blog devoted to promoting the work of alternative small press
writers. He occasionally adds to the pile- his latest chapbooks include, The
Factory of Eccentric Poetics (Holy & Intoxicated Publications, 2021) and
The Beast With Three Legs (Between Shadows Press, 2022).