In
Praise of Snowy Egrets
Diane
Elayne Dees
Like
floating origami, they glide by,
their pleated wings the very essence
of aviation; surely the sight of them
inspired the first kite. On the dullest day,
they are whitest white against stippled sky,
lines and angles juxtaposed on bark and brick,
standing gracefully even in algae-clouded
ditches. Their wings flap over my garden
in DaVinci-inspired grace; they startle me
on the side of the highway, where they feed,
bent like ballet dancers in tableau.
Soft crest, needle beak, crane legs—
the daily poem of my habitat.
***
Diane
Elayne Dees lives in Covington, Louisiana. Last year, she
had two poems nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and she has poetry
recently published or forthcoming in Mobius, Out of Line, The
Binnacle, The Raintown Review, Umbrella, Lucid Rhythms, and
the Syracuse Cultural Workers' Women Artists Datebook.
©
Diane Elayne Dees