Sulphur Crested Cockatoos Poem by Michael DawesSmith

A raucous shredded cloud..they've arrived
With a screech like tearing tin
And the attitude of gangsters
Flashing white, a wrecking crew on the wing

A diet of the farmer's bounty
Builder's foam, clay and loam, a feast
An inner alchemy transforms to fuel
For flight and mischievous caprice

Berry eyed, quizzical
Gormless gaze..a gawk
Crowned with a hand of bananas
A ludicrous, luminous mohawk

Your diminutive a byeword
Of strutting self assurance
In numbers a fluid confident crowd
Arrogance your inheritance

A mysterious alarm or whim..you leave
The spectacle of exodus beguiles
Your home an ether over forest and plain
Your paths unmeasured miles