The Hangzhou Choir Poem by Raymond Farrell

Whether they know it or not
They are dressed in their finery
Sleek solid black feathers
With white wing bands
And every day at sunset
While I sit
Under the locust tree
They gather as one massive flock
In a groove of bamboo
Next to the university campus
To sing with gusto
In a shrill
Unmelodious
Crescendo decrescendo
I can say unabashedly
This, their celebration
Of being alive
Has never failed
To lift my spirits.