The cloud garden forbodes a thunderstorm

A reckoning for afternoon of sun

The birdsong quiets, a sense of alarm

And disappointment marks an end to fun

Four blackbirds suddenly fly formation

While solo magpie spies from aerial

Signalling that there’s nothing to be done

As dandelion seeds float by, wish well

An unseen thorn deflates the paddling pool

As I trim overgrowth that must be shorn

Through sheer necessity cut back Eden

Even my leg is cut, see my blood spill

It’s cooled further now; inside where it’s warm

We’re hedgehogs hibernating, TV on