pond '09

the day before spring really began,
five or six feet tall when stretching,
the long neck, long winged blue heron
got twenty of our fish

tore heck out of the pond in his frenzy
a neighbor saw it on our roof, damn invader
Big Red and Reddy-Whitey gone, among others
for ten years they’d been here,ours to enjoy

the pond now runs anew,
with the remaining nine,
the fortunate few
that made the cut

Frank, the angry bluegill, record size for sure,
and fifteen, or so, inch-long tiny baby fish are hiding
in the moss usually, occasionally swimming round
and around in the summer sun, and growing,

a small water snake will go
when I can get him,
hopefully soon, before he’s any larger
let’s call him Slither

then the good surprise, baby frogs
two I saw yesterday, smaller than I would have imagined,
only a half-finger’s length each, arms and legs,
with eyes, protruding dark spheres, tiny above the water

the small pond is teaming growth, new associations
water bugs - many, but don’t count
cause they’re too varied, small and quick
to tell apart and name them

woodpeckers, black birds, sparrows,
wrens, orioles, robins, of course,
and others, dash around for a drink
or a splash in the small falls,

giant bright red and pale orange blossoms
of the lily, with pads that cover
two-thirds of the water’s surface,
like the book says they should

as guardian for this while,
I’m checking on it
pour in some biological sauce now and then,
mostly leave it be, keeping peace

while M. gardens around,
an eye out for the serpent
and as if there isn’t enough for them to eat,
she feeds the fish, but they like it

we’re caretakers,
for this dot of time,
on this lovely tiny plot
tucked back, in what was the center of he old village,
behind our home built in the 1830’s
where the preacher lived over forty-two years,
and then he died, then she did too

as the earth spins
some things end
others begin
sun goes up
sun goes down,
hey, it’s nice to be around

come on, summer
give it your best shot