Solitary
great blue heron stands still
at thinning gray dusk
in the middle of the pond

visible only from a sliver angle
otherwise unseen
in shadows and reflections
of trees on water skimming the ice.

Needle-nose beak like compass needle
barely moves to the south
away from the sloping road.
Air from early temperate to late freezing.

Sun sinks without hint of a trace.

Margaret Dubay Mikus
© 2013

From Thrown Again into the Frazzle Machine