Herons relish marsh
Where potential mates relax
And dream of molluscs
This was written for Colleen Chesebro’s Tanka Tuesday #173, idea and fancy (synonyms are in bold). Great blue herons sometimes make it far enough inland to be seen near my house, and efforts to rehabilitate natural habitats are helping to make that occur more often. I’ve seen a few in the swamp next to our grocery store, but usually after hurricanes blow them inland.
Dedicated to Marnie Heenan, who likes nature poetry. Also my computer is back.
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Beautiful photo. I much like herons, a common bird across our marshes… and also a character in Book 3 & 5 of the Spinner’s Game.
The pole that threads?
That’s the one. You probably saw her on the cover š
Yup!
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I never thought I’d read the phrase, “And dream of molluscs,” but of course, it makes perfect sense in this case. Lovely image!
Thank you! I’m working on better nature imagery and haiku.
Very beautiful and visual. Well done!
Thank you! I gave it a good try. š
We had a heron in a lake in front of my home. So gorgeous! I havenāt seen him\her this season yet! A gorgeous bird!
I’ve never had a reliable heron on my own property (or parents’ growing up), but there was one who lived at a pond about two miles down the road from where I lived. Hurricane Opal came through, and that bird – a male, alone – just chose to stay at that pond until he finally passed. It was an interesting bird, and I always wondered why he didn’t just fly off and try to get to any mates.
I love to watch the herons fish, although I donāt see them much in the desert. In the housing area across from us there is an amazing water feature that flows through the golf course. I did see a brown heron (not sure if that is what he was or not) hanging about this winter. Good descriptions in your Haiku. ā¤
I hope your brown heron was there on purpose – and that he/she made it somewhere safe if not! They’re pretty interesting birds. Thanks for the compliment!
Youāre welcome.
Herons have such an interesting shape! Lovely poem, very soothing and makes me hungry too š
Mmm, shellfish! I’m glad you liked the poem!
I like birds – when I was in Clearwater FL we went to a beach park and the birds, some herons were so used to people I was able to get some nice photos.
I’ve got some great blue herons here… that fly over and fish in the creek and the library pond that is about two miles away. There’s another marshy area near a grocery store. I’ve seen other birds there… like seagulls. Which I think is kind of odd as we are not near the sea.
Seagulls are like flying rats. I think if they find a place with food, even if not on the beach, they’ll settle in with no problem.
Seagulls, pigeons… Gotta keep some birds around.
Years ago in an Asian country they got rid of pesky birds in the growing fields and then were bombarded by all the things the birdies ate. Nature’s got a place for most things…
I am surprised that the Great Blue heron is around… but it might just be because of the creeks and migration routes. Lovely to see those birds in flight š
Yes, absolutely!
Mmmm. Mollusks.