by Jules Leigh Koch
after a day of hanging upside down
the bats leave Botanic Park
fully mobilised and self fueled
their colony of 20,000 plus
swarm into the evening sky
like an inland Tsunami
endless wing formations
are patterned overhead
their road rage chatter echoes out
deterring birds of prey
as they fly along
the Torrens Valley
looking for pollen
and native fig trees
while others find only
power lines and barbed wire
their journey ends
where it started
upside down and always
before daybreak
Jules Leigh Koch
Jules Leigh Koch is an award-winning Adelaide poet and the author of five poetry collections. He has been a recipient of two South Australian Literature grants. He was a guest reader at Adelaide Writers’ Festival in March 2017 and has been a judge for three biennial John Bray Festival Awards in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
See other “Park Poems” in our series
Make a submission for our “Park Poetry” series. Contact Deb Stewart: poetryintheparklands@gmail.com
