At Wappa Dam
the young heron steps
across the patchwork
platform of lily and algae
its silver slivers
of teeming water
near the shore
with its picnic tables
ignores the children
squealing and rowdy
on school excursion
to this concrete arch dam
where a flotilla of ducks
floats within the wide
sun-dazzle surface
steps smartly, stately
question mark neck
quiver and slow stretch
exclamation thrust
aiming where the fish isn’t
(lesson in water refraction)
gobble, swallow, shiver
slow flap and glide
to the next lure of water
lovers gather up their rug
waves lap the fringed shore
the heron pauses, stabs
- © Earl Livings 2023
Earl Livings has published poetry and fiction in Australia and also Britain, Canada, the USA, and Germany. His work mainly focuses on science, nature, mythology and the sacred. His second poetry collection, Libation (Ginninderra Press) was published in 2018 and his fantasy verse novel, The Silence Inside the World, was released in 2022. He lives in Melbourne with his wife and their ever-growing piles of books.
No comments:
Post a Comment