a sad loss

in vain do i wait
and watch for
the lost urban doves of Sydney,
always in pairs,
their familiar coo’ing
now lost to Sydney’s yards and parks.

i loved listening to and watching
those speckled-necked
brown birds
throating love calls to each other
while they fed in my yard
and perched
in my peach tree,
coo, coo …
gone
forever.