An Egret Unencounter
written by: John Grey
As I dozed off, I spied the egret
from the corner of my sinking eye,
but heard nothing of footsteps
stepping over pebbles,
To all intents, I too was a stone,
lodged in the grass,
in the breeze off the waters,
having my night in the daylight.
The egret flicked its wings,
swayed its head, vibrated its beak,
shuffled the fish and frogs out of hiding
and into its consummate eyeline.
My eye was inside of me
It was peering at other people in past times.
It saw nothing of the sudden successful strike
of a feathery white spear.
Unknown to me, the egret threw its head back,
sucked a flapping fish down its throat,
tasted none but devoured all, held steady
for a moment, then began its pursuit again.
An hour or more, I slept, for that’s my nature.
I fed something inside and, once sated,
it allowed me to wake, retrieve my bearings.
I was where the egret had left me.
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