Butcherbirds

Butcherbirds

Magpie-mimics, pseudo-shrikes,
In apron-fronts and axeman-hoods –
They hang their excess kills on spikes
Around their Aussie urban woods.
Lizzies, hoppers, chicks and mice,
On thorns and barbs and obscure ledges –
Bringing their suburban vice
To tuckeroos and privet hedges.
Where creeps the white trifolium,
So fly these cheerful songsters –
Where lays the fresh linoleum,
So roost these hipster monsters.
But most of all at nesting time,
When elder siblings lend a wing –
They form a gang, a clan of crime,
Whose name they proudly sing.