Brent Geese in Autumn

By mid-October, large flocks
of dark-bellied geese grate
and grumble across grey sky,
ticking clouds with wings.
They descend on the estuary
and spend all winter pecking
at eel grass and remains of corn.
Their noisy nasal honks pierce
autumn twilight like a foghorn,
belying the beauty of their flight
and the delicate embroidery
of their skeins as they alternate
between marshland and farm,
trumpeting their seasonal alarm.

Kim M. Russell, 28th July 2020

240 Brent Geese Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Flights of Fancy

Laura, our host for this Tuesday’s Poetics, is taking us on flights of fancy with poetry about things that fly, so that we might ‘detach ourselves from external matters’. She has given us some high bars to meet, with poems from Longfellow, Robert Frost, Sandburg – I adore his flying fish! – and D.H. Lawrence.

54 thoughts on “Brent Geese in Autumn”

    1. They are beautiful and amazingly steadfast, considering the distances they travel from Canada, Iceland and Greenland. We get hundreds of thousands of them flocking to the nature reserves along the North Norfolk coast every year. I can’t help jumping up and down a little when I spot my first flock. I love autumn. 😉

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  5. kim
    “dark-bellied geese grate
    and grumble across grey sky” this is great!
    ticking clouds, made me think of pillow ticking, which ideally would be cloudlike
    and the ending rhyme just nails it! well done!

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  8. Brent Geese have to be European. We might have them on the east coast. Your poem is tidy, brief and lyrical, a gaggle of gosling gumption; thanks. We get Canadian Geese here, and they stay for the winter, makikng pests out of themselves, crapping and squacking everywhere.

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    1. We get pink footed geese, which breed in eastern Greenland and Iceland, and Brent geese from Canada and Greenland, Hundreds of thousands of them come to the North Norfolk coast every year, where we have several large nature reserves.

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  9. OK, KR… I loves me some geesey VEEs, I do & look forward to overhead honkin, overheard, whether you like it or not (which I DO). Also on the list of things I like a lot: this poem.

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  11. kaykuala

    Their noisy nasal honks pierce
    autumn twilight like a foghorn,
    belying the beauty of their flight

    It cannot be any better than to see a whole flock flying in unison in the twilight orchestrated naturally by instinct. Wonderful scene Kim!

    Hank

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  15. It is fun to see their Vees moving across the fall sky. Love the images in your poem…

    belying the beauty of their flight
    and the delicate embroidery
    of their skeins as they alternate

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  16. There are two contrasts made here – between marshland and farmland, and between the mundane goose on the ground and the delicacy of the goose in flight. Your description is so detailed and accurate. Love it.

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    1. Thank you Kerry. It’s lovely to hear from you! How are you? My release date from Covid shielding is this Saturday. I’m anxious about going out after five months, so I will be taking it slowly, and then, on 9th August, my husband will drive me to my daughter’s house, where I will stay for five days and celebrate my birthday with her and my grandson.

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  24. When the weather cools herein AZ, a flock of geese gathers around a small lake in a park near us. They are loud and gangly and fiercely protective of their young- I enjoy watching them. I love the imagery here Kim.

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