Swish of tyres on tarmac, passing,

sunshine streams, pooled pavements,

broad silvered snail trails of light,

reflection rippled in shallow puddles,

dark stark trees, spider limbs.

The sky is white, blinding, bright.

Up above a magpie screeches

it splits the air, startles me.

I squint my eyes to see

a flurry of feathers, a turn, a spin

the sky expands, all is dazzle,

sparkling shimmers, lifting wings.

A flock of migrating starlings taking flight

my heart rises up, follows

as they dip, turn, rise again

patterns shifting, riding air flows,

take direction, vanish to a far horizon

I may never see again.

Red earth that burns your feet,

rising dust walled by dried out mud,

cold shade in fountained courtyards,

the call to prayer at dawn

above green and golden minarets,

African heat, a dream.