Swifts and swallows
have yet to appear
in these cloudless skies
from which rain clouds
have been banished

A hot muggy morning
and I think of the distances –
swallows from South Africa
swifts from south of the Sahara
year after year they travel
back and forth to vacation
in these British Isles

One swift one swallow
what does it amount to ?
could you call that
a summer ?

John Lyons