At DWC, we have a monthly internal writing competition for our members. Poetry or prose, 150 word limit. You can find previous winners here.
For January, Val Ormrod was our winner on the theme Wild, with this sad little tale.
Brief Encounter
It lands with a plop neatly at my feet.
Stunned by the shock of the fall, the fledgling
lies unmoving on the woodland path,
heart thrashing wild in its trembling chest.
I pick it up, cradling the tiny bird
in the palm of my hand and its wings lift,
flutter one last time before its brief life
stutters and is swept away on the wind.
I look up through a canopy of branches,
see the nest spewing leaves and clumps of mud.
In its midst a cuckoo chick plumps feathers,
settles down, opens its beak and waits.