Lake Morning in Autumn

Douglas Livingstone

Stanza 1

Before sunrise the stork was thereresting the pillow of his bodyon stick legs growing from the water.

Stanza 2

A flickering gust of pencil-slanted rainswept over the chill autumn morning;and he, too tired to arrange

Stanza 3

his wind-buffeted plumage,perches swaying a little,neck flattened, ruminative,

Stanza 4

beak on chest, contemplative eyefilmy with star vistas and hollowblack migratory leagues, strangely,

Stanza 5

ponderously alone and some weeksearly. The dawn struck and everything,sky, water, bird, reeds

Stanza 6

was blood and gold. He sighed.Stretching his wings he clubbedthe air; slowly, regally, so very tired,

Stanza 7

aiming his beak he carefully climbedinclining to his invisible tunnel of sky,his feet trailing a long, long time.