INVISIBLE INSPIRATION

Never have I seen a cuckoo, only heard its call.  When sounds of co cooing somewhere on a tree.

Only recently did I hear a cuckoo near the River Itchen; high up in a tree. Senses alert; a strong desire to see this invisible being.

Cuckoos' reputation with other birds is not so glamorous! Taking over and laying eggs in another species' nest and then booting out the other bird's eggs. Not exactly charming!

William Wordsworth wrote a descriptive poem 'To the Cuckoo'.

Here are some verses (not all).

'To the Cuckoo'

Thrice welcome, Darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible Thing,
A voice of mystery.

To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou art still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen.

INVISIBLE INSPIRATION written by Simon Lever in association with Beauty and the Beast Publishing. Photo courtesy of Piotr Krzeslak, Getty Images