The Bottom Line Poem by Sean Joyce

I study facts and figures
and Excel at my job.
Interest rates and Mortgages
-The Financial Times-

But here among the data
an astonishing report
Corncrake numbers are reviving
-The Corncrake is making a comeback-

I remember the Corncrake’s call
in the twilight after school.
We’d stop to hear it
calling out its name.

Wind through the walls
of an old stone house
the desolate sound
of the corncrake’s voice
echoing down the years

Now every face of every boy
and every stone from every wall
makes a comeback in the
spread sheets on my desk

forget the facts and figures
we have a bottom line
The Corncrake is returning
is the Curlew far behind.


Author's Comments:
'Like many wild birds in the west of Europe the Corncrake and the Curlew faced extinction but now I read that Corncrake number are growing again.'