You Know 'Twill Soon Be Spring Poem by Francis Duggan

In the darkness of the morning just before the dawn of day
I hear the magpies singing on the gums across the way
From mid July and onwards they build their nests and sing
And when the magpies are stick gathering you know 'twill soon be Spring.

Yesterday morning in the backyard watched two blackbirds hop
about
Watched them strut close to each other as they psyched each other out
In a dispute over borders Nature not all love and joy
Watched them wage war on each other even saw the feathers fly.

They too know the Spring is coming that the Winter soon will end
And throughout their breeding Season they have borders to defend
And when the urge to breed is on them they stake out a territory
And they will fight at their borders though their borders we can't see.

Yes I know that Spring is nearing Nature's wild birds tell me so
By the loudness of their singing and the aggression they show
They are not unlike us humans for their piece of ground they
fight
And the strong will father children and the loser take to flight.

Yes I know that Winter's dying when I hear the magpie sing
In the darkness of the morning that we can't be far from Spring
He will soon be a proud father he has claimed his territory
And he'll help his broody partner for to raise their family.