The sky is dark the countryside is quiet <br />But the spur winged plovers cry out in the night <br />Above their territory they call and fly <br />Perhaps the hunting fox is prowling by. <br /> <br />The possums hiss on gum tree in the park <br />And in a yard nearby a terrier bark <br />At wailing tom cats fighting on the street <br />For the right to mate with a female in heat. <br /> <br />The night is calm there's scarce a puff of breeze <br />And boobook owl hunting for small birds in the cypress trees <br />Repeat the same call over and again <br />And frogs are croaking in the pond and drain. <br /> <br />The countryside may seem quiet after dark <br />But in the sky above the nearby park <br />The spur winged plovers cry out in the night <br />Perhaps a fox has driven them to flight<br /><br />Francis Duggan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-night-in-late-autumn/
