Cormorant II

Cormorant II

Black cormorant slides
Serene, low in the water:
Dark avatar,
Death of fishes.
He weaves his head,
Sharp-beaked striking snake
Pursuing panicked fingerlings
As they dart into water weeds.
Pale observers dry-footed
On shore see only the dusky
Sinuous neck lifted into air
Between dives to peer regally
For bearings on the sun-silvered pond.
Sated at last, the bird blackly
Clambers onto the rocks
And hulking, spreads his wings to dry
Beneath the indifferent sky.

5/20/08