We hear them often in the evenings
Cooing and we know
That what we hear are clearly pigeons
Most of us we know
in cities they find ledges
On roofs and windows, they
Are often attacked with netting and nails
To block their way
Rats with wings some call them
These truly beautiful souls
Very very intelligent
They know their various roles
Long ago were domesticated
The Rock Dove they were called
Truly wonderful creatures
Collaboratively schooled
They are amazing actually
Homing their quality
Wherever they find themselves
What they do and sensationally
Is monitor their position
And using the sun and the sky
And actually their compass
To return home which they apply
The pull of the earth
A sniff of the air
And they are on their way
They have binocular vision
Their visual field at play
A layout of the journey
An acoustic map they use
Truly fantastic feathers
For them fantastic news
Seventy to eight kilometres per hour
With a strong tail wind
Even faster still
Thats more sprightly than a Cheetah
All the way it will
Manage without stopping
Or veering off to rest
Used in war time spectacularly
They managed every test.
Two pigeons are in the Smithsonian
With medals they had won
The Grand British Dicken Medal
What their bravery had done
And that was during wartime
Their courage to the fore
Taking on the buzz bombs and the bullets
In the war
Rex Tyler is a Poet, Campaigner, former owner of an organic shop of 30 years, and Public Speaker living in Berkhamsted, UK.