Lesley Cooke was born and bred on the Isle of Wight but has lived nearly all of her adult life in Dorset. She has written poetry since her early teens but found that a career based on writing factual pieces tended to dim her poetic energy. Since retiring she has been able to devote more time to writing poetry.
The Flight of Time
Once I was a kingfisher, pulsing past so fast
all you saw was a spurt of colour,
eye-catching, frantic, packing the days.
Now I’m a swan,
idling down the river.
Alone with my reflection.
Wings often still and feet barely moving.
Soon I will be a heron,
a rock of stillness, contemplation and peace.
Colourless, I’ll blend quietly into the reeds,
at one with the land around me.
Lesley Cooke