With all the garish honking, I expected
to see “just married” signs and a tawdry string
of tin cans dragging noisily from the tail
feathers — Canada Geese dropping out of the blue
into a small wind-blown breech of open
water, like a pothole in a parking lot,
a designated space marked, “visitors”
in the northwest corner of the frozen lake.
Spreading primary feathers, each
arches its broad wings, tips pointing
roundly downward toward the target
as if preparing to hug a barrel,
flapping — four, five, huge, slow waves
to gather the resistance of wind before
touching down, adding its own
disturbance to an already choppy surface.
Despite daily practice and all of nature’s
instincts refined by generations, some still miss
the mark, back-peddling over the rough gray ice
on wide, webbed feet before skidding to a stop.
Like a far-off scratch, above the clawing
treetops, the pairs practice ritual formations,
little more than a dotted line on a pale blue
envelope. As if you could fold on the dotted
line and tear it open along its perforation.
And if you did open all that honking,
if you could see into the feathered chest,
would you find inside the secret of monogamy,
how these geese manage to mate for life,
though they sound more like a parking lot
full of teens tooting car-horns after a game?
At the far corner, a Great Blue Heron
wades alone, a few yards off shore,
at the very edge of the open water,
as far as possible, which isn’t far
at all, from the yowling crowd.
Head hunkered down, neck folded
into his shoulders, legs fully immersed,
tail tilting into the lake, a few feathers
ruffled by the wind, he watches
for an overdue meal, or maybe just watches
me watching him: two newly single men
at a party full of couples, trying to grab
a little food, make their excuses, and get out.
Previously published in Dogwood, Fairfield University.
David Mook grew up in Yardley and lived in the New Hope area most of his adult life before retiring to Vermont. The Delaware River, Tohickon Creek, and Lake Galena all evoke fond memories and are the settings for many of his poems.
Poet’s Corner is curated by Bucks County Poet Laureate Emeritus Tom Mallouk and supported by a grant to the Bucks County Herald Foundation made possible by Marv and Dee Ann Woodall.
To submit a poem for consideration, email it to Heraldpoetscorner@gmail.com. If the poem has been previously published, please say where it first appeared.
Join our readers whose generous donations are making it possible for you to read our news coverage. Help keep local journalism alive and our community strong. Donate today.
