A Snowy Egret
While driving down the road one day, in the pouring rain,
a snowy egret flew above him, like a mighty crane.
He saw its giant underbelly and great wing-span soar;
it was not anything that he had ever seen before.
He wondered why it bade its time, while flying with no care,
like a white muslin shroud upon a pond up in the air.
He wondered what it meant that he had seen that bird as such.
Was it an omen like the Romans saw near hearth or hutch?
Was it a saint seen on this Sunday seeking peace or prey?
It was so beautiful against the grave and wat’ry gray.
Was he a king due to be crowned, a ghostly albatross?
a purity and surety, shaped like a flapping cross?
Bruce Dale Wise is a poet and former English teacher currently residing in Texas.
