'A Nest Full of Stars is a marvellous, warmly humane and richly humourous new collection from James Berry' Achuka

From A Nest Full of Stars

Only chance made me come and find

my hen, stepping from her hidden

nest, in our kitchen garden.

In her clever secret place, her tenth

egg, still warm, had just been dropped.

Not sure of what to do, I picked up

every egg, counting them, then put them

down again. All were mine.

All swept me away and back.

I blinked, I saw: a whole hand

of ripe bananas, nesting.

I blinked, I saw: an open bagful

of ripe mangoes, nesting.

I blinked, I saw:

a might nest full of stars.