John Grey has two poems featured in this issue.
Photo Left: © Jacquie Roecker | www. jacquieroecker.com
Heron at edge of pond,
a spike of blue
in green reeds
as, in the distance,
an old man
peers through the telescope.
His red-streaked,
uncooperative eyes
are no longer in the business
of tracking tiny warblers
Only the larger birds
make sense to his lenses these days.
As years pass,
less and less of the inhabitants
of the woods
have names to go by.
And the people in his household
are going the same way.
But the call of nature
still means more
than just those
annoying bathroom trips
after midnight.
And the great blue heron
seldom strays far
from its nest.
There’s a bond between them,
just as strong
for one of the two
being unaware of the other.
Both are there to satisfy a hunger.
The heron suddenly snares a fish with its beak.
The old man already has his heron.
John Grey is an Australian born poet. Recently published in Slant, Southern California Review and Natural Bridge with work upcoming in the Kerf, Leading Edge and Louisiana Literature.
