Egret

I am fortunate to live within walking distance of a city lake and wooded hiking trails, both a draw for many different species of birds: herons, chick-a-dees, and red-winged blackbirds, kingfishers and cardinals, mallards, geese, and gulls start the list, nicely. But my favorite remain the egrets with their dazzling white plumage and elegant movements. Many times I have spotted one fishing on the far side of the lake. More than once I have come within a stone's throw from another on the near shore. Both of us startled, me holding stock-still, the egret taking to the air. Mostly, though, I am too far away to pose any kind of a threat.



Egret


                               White-hot
spotlit against the dark summer reeds

that curtain the shore
and prying eyes of soft-pawed predators

the long-legged bird electrifies my gaze.    

                                            Unperturbed
grown too large for eagles
no further worries water-side

he dips his head to fish.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor