Heron-haunted Pool

Ropy jelly congeals in a shallow pool, fringed by rushes,

swelling frogspawn absorbs blue sky into green shade.

Tadpoles wiggle loose, like dark sperm, beneath sculling water boatmen.

Morsels for hedgehogs, snakes and dragon larvae.

Copper iris and meadowsweet, conceal their gradual

metamorphosis in this silted, fairy tale bog

where scummy froth frills moss-cushioned borders.

A robin’s rapid tic-tic signals alarm.

As a grey heron glides in,

loose-baggage legs trailing, pale-feathered neck curving.

Landing, statue-still, it’s all patience and perseverance,

observing the inky mirror, reflecting black eye-stripes.

Suddenly, its yellow, dagger-like beak plunges the dark surface,

dredging slippery capsules into rippled light.