Great Blue Heron ~ AIDAN MURPHY

Great Blue Heron

AIDAN MURPHY

From a statue launched into a bundle of grey, he rose out of the underbrush and into midafternoon, under the golden autumn sun, broad, rounded wings, unfurling, spreading them like a peacock fanning its feathers out, then a majestic glide overhead, out into the cordgrass returning to his domain, his razor-thin, but sturdy legs severing the spartina beneath ankles midway up his legs, his amber beak met by a dark blue crown and then black plumes above sauntering strides of royalty toward the bank of the river, a leap into the water, waiting, water ankle-deep waiting, patient piercing strides waiting, stalking his swimming prey waiting, striking quickly seizing his meal fit for a king then vanishing back into his realm behind the muddy ramparts.