Lawrence
Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
The Parlement of Foules and the Parliament of Fools
The
Parlement of Foules of whom old Chaucer wrote
Meet yearly
on the Feast of Valentine
In Venus’
temple to negotiate
The noble
rites of love and life and youth
The
Parliament of Birds on my front lawn
In their
several sub-species negotiate
Their seeds
and crusts with outraged squawks and shrieks
But in
the end manage to satisfy all
The Parliaments
of Birds are of order and rules
But humans
elect only Parliaments of Fools
