Immersed in the sounds

Of male nightingales setting up home

Waiting for the females, taking their time

To fly north from Africa

Seeing who can sing the most attractive tune

And sharing it with us

Paralysingly beautiful

That this courtship happens in our hedgerows

After a long journey every year

And as the cuckoo calls

We wonder at the dense carpet of bluebells Like a purple ocean swallowing up the trees

Spare a thought for this wild unkempt landscape

That’s been nurturing nature for hundreds of years.

Celebrate the beauty of a messy hedge