Teenagers Like Starlings

 Flying in unison they

swoop in circles and soar through the air

dipping to the ground and looping up again

too fast and there are too many

then they land

 

On rooftops and powerlines

they line up single-file

never stopping to measure where they fit in

they know just where they belong

and which branch is theirs as they

dot the bare trees like plump, black leaves

 

They chatter in their own language

and noise fills the atmosphere

chirping and squeaking

trying to be heard

desperate to make a statement

in their uniformity

 

Eventually a leader emerges and it is time to go

the movements repeat as they

swoop in circles and soar through the air

dipping to the ground and looping up again

Alfred Hitchcock-like

they would surely attack if given the signal

 

This gang of starlings

fraternize

mesmerize

tyrannize

and then, in unison, they fly away