Morningside

2019 7th & 8th Grade Poetry Honorable Mention

In the midst of the urban jungle,
A carved out swath of greenery.
A lonesome wiry figure stands,
Knee-deep in murky water
Using his beak to part the Green Sea.

The heron gracefully saunters to the wily weeping willow,
Whose branches brush the calm surface of the pond.
The geese arrive. Formerly perched on a dead branch,
He barely grazes the water as he flies,
Each flap calculated and deliberate.

A spectator of this phenomenon,
She gapes as the heron flies across the pond, a sequestered island.
She shuts her eyes, letting the serenity of the pond wash over her,
Honoring the memory of her father,
Who spent many an afternoon with her at the pond.

People pass, and she remains with the heron.
Nothing dares to come near him. Nothing distracts her.
Beak turned downwards, he walks on water,
Stopping periodically to observe his surroundings
As he returns to the weeping willow.

The geese congregate and snap at each other’s tails.
The pond’s veneer of serenity is gone.
The young girl remains,
Isolated in her memories.
The heron stands, solitary in his urban jungle.