Battle of the Finches

The song of a goldfinch in thought sends me far away 
To the northern groves in the prime of the May 
The beautiful birds with the twittering song 
By sight or by sound one could never get wrong 
Mostly fawn and gray and dark brown and wing tips of gold 
And red band on forehead above pointy bill birds lovely to behold 
Their open cup shaped nest placed on outer fork of high branch of tree where the female bird lay 
Four to five bluish freckled eggs by leaves from view hidden away 
Whenever i hear or see them in memory i go back in time 
To the green countryside where i penned my first rhyme 
And this is going back many Seasons ago 
Long before time it did become my foe 
And though time does tick on the happy memories remain 
And the goldfinches are singing in my mind again. 

Francis Duggan