Half-deaf in a silent street,
bereft of bass;
as he inhales, his cigarette
lights up his face.
A fox slips through a broken fence
and hurries on.
Two tramps in an empty warehouse
roast a stolen swan.
A man peers past his sleeping wife
to check the time.
Snails cross-hatch a patio
in trails of slime.
Just a heads-up for anyone who’s interested: the First Annual Blogger Bioblitz, ‘where bloggers from across the country will choose a wild or not-so-wild area and find how many of each different species – plant, animal, fungi and anything in between – live in a certain area within a certain time’ will be run from April 21-29.
You can read the annnouncement here, and they’ve set up a discussion group on Google Groups here.
I’m thinking of participating but some kind of weird bug in Google Groups means I haven’t registered yet. I’m going to be in Crete at the time, and I’ll be taking a bird guide (obviously!) as well as a guide to the wild flowers of Crete, but I won’t be able to do any insects or fungi or anything. I’m a little intimidated by the expertise of most of the people taking part, but on the basis that it’s an exercise in mass-participation rather than a rigorous scientific study, I thought I’d do what I could.