Sweet songbird - a poem by Chris Zachariou

The horrific death of migratory birds in Cyprus

Sweet songbird of Saranti
look at the purples in the hills
see the vines on their slopes
with red and white grapes.

Strange songsmith of the flatlands
I see the vineyards and the forests
but the grapes are still green
and the rocks are soaked in brine
from the grief of weeping songbirds.

Hear the gallop of red horses
they are coming to steal the water;
listen to my brothers weeping
on a stick with honey and lime.

Sweet songbird of Saranti
come with me to the harbour
into the house by the quay, before
the fairy's voice lures you
to the sticks with honey and lime.

In our lemon-scented bedroom
we'll feast on grapes and honey
drinking water from the well
before the horses come to steal it.

My lover from the flatlands
I fear the gallop of red horses
and the sticks with honey and lime.
The red riders will pull my
fledgling feathers, they’ll put me
in a jar and my smooth white thighs
they'll sell to the highest bidder.