The grey heron for hours on end is standing <br />In the quiet pool with water to his knees <br />With head cocked to strike he scans the moonlit waters <br />For small trout who might swim out from shade of trees. <br /> <br />Till eventually his great patience is rewarded <br />A troutling unconcerned swims his way <br />A quick dart of his head there's little struggle <br />And in one gulp he swallows down his prey. <br /> <br />The quick snatched meal does little for his hunger <br />There's many more fish there for him to eat <br />In shallows of river pool he stands silent <br />The cold waters lapping around his feet. <br /> <br />The grey herons in flight seem slow and awkard <br />But as fisher birds with patience they have skill <br />They wait for hours in the slow shallow waters <br />And they won't miss their opportunity to kill. <br /> <br />In moonlit stream at border of quiet meadow <br />In shallows of pool partly shaded by trees <br />The patient heron waits for his next victim <br />With water lapping around his spindly knees.<br /><br />Francis Duggan<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-grey-heron/
