Mr. Heron
It's really very simple,
How things are going to
change.
We learn what we need to
know by watching
How Mr. Heron stands in
the marsh.
He stands until the tide
ebbs
To the point where a
large fish
Leaps free
As if tossed up by the
water
In a floppy arc.
And then Mr. Heron stirs
Like a business man
In a dark suit,
Lifting himself slowly on
wings
That never hurry.
And then you turn to me
and say
He looks sad.
Yes, it is much sadder than beautiful
Watching him fly away.
Comment:
We are visiting Shirley's father in West Palm
Beach. We were on the long boardwalk that stretches from the nature center to
the beach when we stopped to watch a heron standing in the tidal river. They are always so solitary when you see them
fishing like this, I became aware that I felt bad for him. He looked so exposed
and somewhat foolish. Then a fish jumped and it was as if this woke him from
his trance. The fish was too big for him, so its leap from the water was more
symbolic than anything. It was almost as if he was embarrassed, as if he was
saying to himself, "What am I doing!" As if I was witnessing a Zen moment for
the heron, and that he would now be free to find something better to do ...
shed his dark suit, find a better way to live, that makes more sense to him.
(Article changed on March 12, 2017 at 23:15)
