HERON

Just realised I too am one of those poets who has added to the ever growing list of poems about the heron (and a few on kingfishers too!). Here's one that was originally published on Nth Position's website:


Heron

Iconic bird, along with kingfisher, swallow,
owl, the lark, the lapwing,
every poet writes of you.They say you're
'hunched by the water,
deep in contemplation,
you raise the extending ladder of your neck,
walk on the talll stilts of your legs'.
Etc, etc.

Enough of all that stuff! You're nothing but
a sword, a spear, lethal harpoon.
As God, or whoever it was, decided
in his wisdom, or whatever it was,
to make you.


(published Nth Position, Dec 2008)


Clearly mine is a half-serious poem. The most beautiful poem I know about the heron is this by the American poet Mary Oliver: "Some Herons" , from her collection Wild Geese, (Bloodaxe). Well worth seeking out if you like herons.