David Burt - An Anatomy of Hallucination

Poem


	Night Vigil
	The rustic gate did swing upon its hinge As the breeze around the hide began to freshen The evening sky retained an orange tinge As the setting sun did dip and slowly lessen. Shadows lengthened and so began to merge As night's fingers closed upon the scene The bullfrogs began their nightly dirge Amidst the pond reeds, tall and bottle green.
	The waters stirred up by the freshening breeze Rippled in a spreading searching ark. The green leaves sighed throughout the trees As light gave way to the encroaching dark Nocturnal creatures soon began to stir To hunt, to search, to socialise, to forage To chase their quarry through the cocklebur Or contentedly graze the grasses and the borage.
	Fireflies filled the sky like silvery stars, Brown owls did swoop on silent wings, with eerie cry, Whilst on the ground nestled shy and meek chukars With their offspring chicks beneath their wing close by. And so began my long and lonely vigil As I crouched down here within my hide, Observing the habitat of the tiny hawksbill In this land where tropical turtles do reside.

	Night Vigil (Audio)