Swifts- Apus apus

Each year in May we watch for the return of the  swifts who nested here under our thatch, hoping they have survived the long journey to and from Africa. They have now arrived and it seems the three pairs who left last year have returned or their offspring have. I wrote this poem about them coming back here.

Swifts‘ Return

On early summer evenings we wait

For the swifts, impatiently.

Arriving dramatically

They circle the house

Remembering the way under the eaves.

Each evening they fly

Screaming, winged speed hurtling

Straight towards the thatch

Thump against the board and vanish

The noise reverberating through empty rooms.

We shelter them until late August

Until they imprint this place

Hardwired on their homing systems

And fly south, their nests empty.

Only the creaks and groans of the house

In the wind, recalls the summer months.