Intrepid

One day I sat wilted

On the edge of the drying pond

Reed stalks cracked under summer’s heavy

Breath

Burnt earth quivered

With reflected heat

Blue sky wavered

With shriveled clouds

Across the pond, silent

Like me, stood the heron

Stately, steady, standing

Erect against the blaze

It walked smooth, long steps

Through the muck of tangled pondweed

Defiant in its coolness,

Blue-grey resolution against the flame

Standing tall in the dry, scorched, and empty

Slowly it unfolded

Majestic wings, and soared

So close to the sun

Its feathers seemed to catch

Fire

And it glided steady across the quivering sky

Out of my sight