On the north-west corner of the lake
there’s a sudden loud 
squawking of crows.
More and more come to the scene.
It grows very loud.

It moves like a black cloud
circling a tuart tree
then back around.

I watch and try to see if I can see
a raptor they’re chasing,
but can’t make one out.
More wardong arrive—
maybe a hundred by now,
and it’s getting very loud.

I think of someone’s T-shirt on a flight
back from Bali—
it had a picture of two crows sitting 
on a branch with the caption
‘Attempted murder’.

Well, this is full blown carnage.

I keep watching, and eventually
see a larger brown raptor 
cruising slowly along
beneath the maelstrom.
Maybe a swamp harrier.
He looks relatively un-fussed.

Eventually it all dies down
and the crows return
to their respective parts of the lake
and beyond.