Black Hills Audubon Society

Bateleur

the beauty of the bateleur
has never been captured on film
i was fortunate
to spend many hours
studying this bird
in the ancient Kalahari
i and the bateleur are one
the bateleur wears
its exquisite colours
on the outside
i wear mine inside
thanks to my creator
who made me when
oceans were springs

by Judith Miller

The bateleur is most exquisite in the northern part of the Kalahari Gemsbok Park (recently renamed to the Kagaladi National Park) in South Africa. There is not one bird book photo that does its beauty justice. Judith Miller, who works as a senior manager in cellular telecommunications, is a poet from Cape Town, South Africa, and has had several poems published in the Mindscapes Journals 4 and 5. Judith has spent many hours watching birds in Southern Africa. More of her poems can be found on these web pages: www.uct.ac.za/projects/poetry/capepoet.htm and www.dreamagic.com/poetry/miller8.html

Send your poetry to pelican@vei.net if you would like to publish on this page