24 Syllables Rebooted

Journey's End

Journey’s End

Pigeon homing in the gloaming,
silhouetted in the darkling sky,
race nearly done, the coop calls.


24 syllables, 8-9-7
Free Verse
For 24 Syllables, August 31 2020. Winner.
Prompt: Use the word “gloaming”
Note: Pigeon racing is very popular in Britain, especially among the working classes of the North. The birds are taken to a distant location, freed at a given time and then they fly home (hence “homing pigeon”). First to register an arrival at the bird’s home coop wins the race. Pigeons, like most birds of the daytime, do not fly at night, so a racing pigeon must get home before darkness falls.