Friday, December 5, 2008
A Common Egret
If I could turn my knees around,
stand patiently in shallow water,
looping my long snake-thin neck
as I stare at the dim shapes of small fish
I stir up with my feet, I would be
a white egret meditating on a meal
in the solitude of salt marshes.
You might see my head raised above
a field of reeds like a strong flower,
then disappear as I strike lightning fast
at the substance of a shadow.
If you look upon me too long, I feel
the hollowness of my stomach, then
unfolding my ungainly wings, I lift myself
a few yards above & distant, to a place
I imagine I am once again invisible.
You would do well to imitate me,
learn the art of fishing
& mind your own business.
stand patiently in shallow water,
looping my long snake-thin neck
as I stare at the dim shapes of small fish
I stir up with my feet, I would be
a white egret meditating on a meal
in the solitude of salt marshes.
You might see my head raised above
a field of reeds like a strong flower,
then disappear as I strike lightning fast
at the substance of a shadow.
If you look upon me too long, I feel
the hollowness of my stomach, then
unfolding my ungainly wings, I lift myself
a few yards above & distant, to a place
I imagine I am once again invisible.
You would do well to imitate me,
learn the art of fishing
& mind your own business.
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