Five Magpies A Hopping! Poem by Denis Martindale

Deliveries are prone to come before each midday here,
And as I was awaiting some, I kept my schedule clear,
And often gazed upon my street, for little and large vans,
For further orders to complete, fulfilling all my plans.
But something happened, seldom seen, in fact, not seen before,
Such that I would not intervene, and yet could not ignore.
At first, I saw one on its own and smiled to see it there,
Within one minute, not alone, four more that made me stare.

Five magpies hopping to and fro from pavements to the road,
As if that was the place to go by what the magpies showed.
Then they split up, as if aloof, from left to right and more,
One magpie flew up to a roof as if it were on tour.
Another hopped under a car, then out the other side,
I saw it and thought, 'There you are! ' My mouth now opened wide.
Then came another waddling past that then climbed up a pole,
Then up a bit it went so fast, maintaining great control.

Another gently pecked the ground, where potholes had remained,
Without a single peep or sound, as some food there, it gained.
I looked from left to right to learn what antics had occurred,
And yet no more could I discern as I watched every bird.
I thought, 'What sight could match this now? ' and then, to my delight,
Three pigeons crossed the sky somehow, aligned in perfect flight.
How wise I did not intervene, but sat still here to stay,
While smiling at five magpies seen! As each one made my day!


Denis Martindale.10th June 2026.

Here is a new poem by the Poemhunter poet Denis Martindale. In the poem, 'Five Magpies A Hopping! ' the poet describes what happened outside his home early in the morning. Just the other day, he was captivated upon seeing a single magpie, but now he was spellbound when he looked outside and saw five magpies! Without moving from his chair, he gazed at them in wonder. Their long tails stretched out like twelve-inch rulers, and their black and white colours reminded him of penguins. Ironically, a few minutes later, the five magpies waddled along the pavement, so that amusing little penguin image of them will remain with him forever.