Charles Albano
c. 1997

Aloft those tall, tar-papered coops,
A flock of pigeons climbs and swoops,
Below, their keeper shouts and claps,
And waves a bamboo pole with flaps.

Spiraling high to his commands,
Ascending with his upturned hands,
The little air force takes to sky,
To meet the foreign flock on high.

And as they gain their altitude,
They level off to best intrude;
Closing in, they split their ranks,
To enter "combat" from the flanks.

Loyal pigeons in the sky,
Far removed from human eye,
Beating hard the cool, blue air,
Would that he could lead you there!

Field-glass ready at his side,
He watches distant flocks collide,
And hopes that through its discipline,
His squadron culls new strays for him.

Swarms of pigeons without rules,
Join to form new molecules,
At heights of some four thousand feet,
Where they will clash, but not retreat.

He follows as they intersperse;
A moment later, they reverse.
They climb and dive, they roll and spin,
Like schools of fish, through air they swim!

Some pair away from battle group,
With foreign birds to form a loop,
Then back to cloud they integrate
As if to seek another mate.

Tumblers spread a stiff fantail
And drop a thousand feet like hail,
Leaving fewer in the flock;
The keeper silently takes stock.

He waves his staff to call them in,
From foreign stock whose ranks run thin,
Then spurs the "dropper"* to his call;
It whistles home and the others fall.

The seeming melee over now,
He scoops up corn and fills the trough.
His flock returns and pecks aloof,
All around the yard and roof.

Unflinching heroes of a war,
Accompanied by thirty more!
Thirty more winged friends to keep;
The fullest fly-pen on the street.

Satisfied are fond desires,
With these added mile-high flyers!

Checkered, mottled, capped--all banded,
Captured fair and even-handed.
Some meant to fly, some best for show;
He loved them all and let them know.

Tumblers, Rollers, Runts and Nuns,
Pouters, Turbits, Owls and Duns,
Helmets, Blue Bars, Fantails too,
Joined his growing rooftop zoo!


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* Dropper: A bright-colored pigeon with poor flying skill that is used
by the Keeper to signal the flock to land.