TAKE IT ON THE WING
gulls fly, dart
dive full circle
stealth,rise, fall
in frantic pursuit
searched for-prize
the pearlescent flesh
of coveted shell fish
that lays abandoned
on the empty shore
within useful persistence
a razored beak finds
one,spills out the flesh
ready to take it away
leaving the rest to caw
mocking-restlessly be
their insult, to miss out
frustrated flocks fly on

By Michael Perry