Garth Dutton

Suburbia Pigeons – A Poem

Suburbia Pigeons
© Garth Dutton, 2007

These birds
have adapted beautifully
to life in Adelaide’s suburbs.
Originally Burmese doves,
they came from the hot wet climate
of a tropical rain forest.

Here they have adapted
to a cool wet winter
and a long hot dry summer.
There would not have been
one item of food from
their original rain forest home
available here.

They had to find a new year-round diet
from scratch, and have done so.
In some Adelaide suburbs,
native topknot pigeons and suburbia pigeons
have separate territories.

In other suburbs,
they share backyards and parks.
And I am sure they now
have no ‘racial memory’
of their original rain forest home.

They are in Adelaide to stay.

Tags: adelaide, garth dutton, poem, poet, Poetry, suburbia, Writing