HERON FLYING HOME
There they all are, one after the other,
Herons going home.
Black shapes against a fading sky,
Beautiful and prehistoric,
None of them looking
At the shadowed trees below them.
Until one crashes the dark branches
To land in moon touched mud
At the side of the silent river.
Looking a bit like a witch
On a wicked broomstick,
Scratchy twigs sweeping
All the little creatures
Out of its imperious way.
Now the trees in the heronry
Are heavy with sleeping birds,
Each quietly contained,
All wrapped up in themselves.
The first stars pricking the sky,
The long dark fish in the water
Flashing a sudden brief silver,
Sharp eyes promising
To eat them in the morning.
Whilst, we, made of earth and sky,
Fold into the stars. Fold into the trees.
And, at the last, fold into the heron.
© 2020 Gwen Grant
Poems by Gwen Grant 
Such visual phrases! Love it!
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I watch the herons flying just beyond the edge of our garden. There’s a heron flight path from one wood to another and it’s such a joy when I see their awkward, beautiful shapes in the sky. So, very glad you liked it.
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