original poem – Page 74 – don't confuse the narrator

tiger, tiger

I thought circuses with exotic animals had been banned.

It seems I must be mistaken, though, as this poor beast was sitting in the heat of the afternoon in a tiny cage just outside the village bull ring today.

There were several other white tigers, two ‘normal’ tan tigers and a lion, in other cages. Most of them were fast asleep, which is hardly surprising given the fact the sun was shining directly onto the metal trailers.

I suppose it will be a bit cooler this evening, when they perform, but I won’t be going to watch.
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autumn

Autumn breathes grey mist across the mountain;
he stamps in puddles, then laughs
with sudden sunshine.

pines sihouetted agains clouds reflecting sunset

fragments

The photo shows what was going on on my verandah once the sun warmed up this morning and brought the wasps out to feed on a small corpse which I assume was left there by the cats.

The villagers here in Spain would call it a langosta, I think. Even with my limited knowledge of the animal world, I do know it’s not a lobster, but I’m not sure if it was actually a locust, a cricket, a grasshopper or a katydid. Whatever it was, though:
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bluebirds II

I’ve mentioned before the effect certain blue birds have on me: how they raise my spirits and how, for the (usually brief) moments that they are visible, I forget to do anything other than stand and stare.

This week, though, a jay has visited the vine regularly – I guess the grapes must be just about ripe – so I’ve had my camera to hand on my desk ready for when he appears.

Each morning
a jay visits the vine;
high above, cirrus
whisper of autumn

Normally, even if the camera is easily found, opening windows or doors startles any wildlife away before I can get a picture. But after the recent cleaning binge, I was able to take this photo through the window.

Windows cleaned
inside and out:
how bright the world looks!

Even so, if this is the best I can do, I think next time I’d better leave the bird photography to the experts and settle for recording the image in my memory rather than on my camera’s memory card.

village fiestas

Spain goes from fiesta to fiesta and here in the village the first proper working week after the long summer has ended with celebrations in honour of Nuestra Señora la Virgen del Pilar de Arenas.