Karen Bayly
Poetry

Photo Credit: Ian Sane

There’s a white feather lying on the floor of the bus,
framed perfectly by a patch of sunlight,
just lying there
as though there was nothing incongruous
about there being a feather on a bus,
especially when it is what looks like
a cockatoo feather
because cockatoos don’t catch buses.
Breast I think, feather that is,
though it could be a back feather,
incongruous because cockatoos don’t catch buses
not that I’ve ever seen
although I suppose they could
given that pigeons catch trains in London,
riding the underground to reap the food rewards
left by commuters at all the different stations.
But my buses don’t run underground
and bus stops here are no source
of food for cockatoos,
so why catch a bus
and leave a white feather
lying on the floor of the bus,
framed perfectly by a patch of sunlight.
Of course, it might have been an angel,
angels ride buses, don’t they,
because cockatoos don’t,
not last time I looked,
not being pigeons and all that,
not that angels are pigeons,
but when they take their wings off,
well, not take them off,
hide them so we mortals can’t see them,
they hide their wings and sit on park benches
in trench coats and ride public transport
making people feel better about life,
not that we can see them or their wings,
but it is possible, isn’t it,
that a stray feather could make its way
from under the trench coat,
a white feather,
lying on the floor of the bus,
framed perfectly by a patch of sunlight,
except I think angel feathers would be bigger,
of course I don’t really know
because I’ve never seen angel wings,
they hide them under trench coats,
I think I’ve heard them though,
the sound of angel wings…

Listen.

Karen Bayly is a writer, ex-actor, ex-muso, sometime scientist, and reluctant IT bod.  She has  published poems in Overland and Ygdrasil, and short stories in Skive Magazine, Voluted Tales, The Scruffy Dog Review and other journals. She recently completed a Steampunk-inspired novel and has started a new novel for young adults. She loves all animals but has a huge gooey spot for cats, horses and birds. Email: karenbayly[at]gmail.com