Starlings

Glittery darlings of the stars indeed;
be-sequinned emissaries – alien bringers of disturbance and hubbub
with seasonal extravaganzas of mind-boggling aeronautic displays
dances of celestial wonder and mystery.
Individually, they are feisty aggressors, adept mimics and opportunists
who squabble and bicker

 akin to the commotion of a large family in a too small house.

   In their multitudes, I can only grasp them as a cloud of consciousness
a group persona in which every single one is a cell or speck of the whole
 perfectly aligned, swirling and weaving in real-time 
 with peerless co-ordination and precision, macro and micro
expressing their unity and entirety
as manifest in those skyey manoeuvres.

   Cherry orchards and vineyards are favoured, bespoke dining places
as are the poor farmers newly sewn autumn crops.
It’s little wonder they are seen as pestiferous locust-like infestations
and shot at, poisoned and maligned
despite some helpful virtues in grub-removals and picking parasites off cattle.
 

The danger of these flocks colliding with aircraft is another conflict of interest:
whose air is it though?

When the boundaries cannot be mutually agreed upon
 – do we humans have exclusive rights - even with immigrants like these!

City-centres or wetland reed beds, woodlands or moors
seem all the same to them;
 they will descend en masse, with a twittering cacophony
whooshing like a Pentecostal wind as they fly-by
to roost and deposit their leavings

to the exasperation of town councils
and employment for cleaners and painters;
as well as dietary supplement for feral cats and hungry falcons.

Mayhap, the gift of their murmurations
compensates for the blight and bother of the rest!