Up ahead
To my right
Around the point before me
A burst of squawks and the
Beating of heavy wings
Filled the air
The head and then the long endless body
Rose before me
Right over
The spine of my canoe
The heron
Blocking my vision
No more than ten feet above
My open jaw
And transfixed eyes.
It flew toward me
Thwump, thwump
I heard the wings breaking the
Early morning stillness around me
The majestic bird
Cupped its sails
And hovered for a moment,
Or a lifetime,
Directly above my right shoulder
Each feather was visible –
Rust, cream, slate,
And light blue eye shadow.
The feet and legs stretched behind
Tows pointed to cut through the air
My head rolled backward to watch
The bird fly off
Across the lake
A gift to start my day.
(Raymond A. Foss)
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Based on Topics: Birds Poems, Charity PoemsBased on Keywords: feather, vision, ahead, stillness, rust, visible, majestic, lifetime, slate, cream, heron