Great Blue
I reach for my camera in the bow of the kayak
as living driftwood of exquisite thinness
senses me from shore with that great, watchful eye
keen for spying fish and frog, lifts,
stays low skimming the silver gloss,
neck tucked, legs dangling,
curved wings silently rowing.
I’ve heard it said
that the bird in any poem, in fact, represents the poet.
Oh, were I that heron!
How I covet the instinct, the grace, the speed,
the effortless transcendence—
one with sky and lake.
Katherine Edgren has two books of poetry: Keeping Out the Noise, by Kelsay Books and The Grain Beneath the Gloss, by Finishing Line Press, plus two chapbooks: Long Division and Transports. Her work has appeared in journals including: Coe Review, Birmingham Poetry Review, Light, Orchards Poetry Journal, and Third Wednesday. Katherine is a former Ann Arbor City Council member. Her past work includes heading up the Health Promotion and Community Relations Department at University Health Service and serving as a Project Manager for Community Action Against Asthma a community-based, participatory and intervention research project through the School of Public Health, University of Michigan. She has a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan.
Amethyst Review 