All In The Calm Of The Evening Poem by Francis Duggan

As darkness it is gathering above the ancient hill
The loud bray of a donkey cuts through the evening chill
And in the nearby paddock the spur winged plovers cry
All in the calm of the evening as darkness cloaks the sky,
The boobook and the barn owls from hiding venture out
And there is no mistaking the call of the frogmouth
It sounds so like a soft snore quite audible though low
You hear it once the next time it's voice you are bound to know,
All in the calm of the evening as night begins to fall
Out there in the dark paddock the cunning fox does call
The fox is a scavenger who hunts for smaller prey
A creature of the darkness though sometimes seen in light of day
And all in the calm of the evening in the chilly Winter breeze
The little ring tail possums are whistling on the trees.