THE GREAT BLUE HERON WALKED ON SLENDER FEET

The Great Blue Heron walked on slender feet

And rain clouds drifted in the breeze

The wind imparted tiny waves like furrows

On the water by its feet.

A large Ibis with green and rusty feathers

Labored hard for food

Its large curved beak in mud

It thrust like spade.

A young alligator—a baby still—

Slow, out of water drew, and climbed to rest

On widened twigs by flowering plants

His yellow strips glittered in the air.

And Mallard ducks dabbed in green duck weed

 —Like carpet made of silk—

That clung to all that lived, in water’s

Slow persistent drift.

There I walked on wooden decks

And though I’ve seen and heard it all before:

The sound of wind through tree tops leaves, and

Birds’ songs, to each, to all, that found at last their niche

It stirred my heart and moved my soul to heights and peaks:

Crystal clear, where flowers in perpetual bloom

Sway within melodious tunes

By heart I knew before, and still recall.

                                                                                                            

                                                                                     Green Cay nature preserve, Florida.

© Dr. Ehud Sela. No work herein may be reproduced in any way without expressed permission from the author.

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