Amid the transient glint of wavelets pricked by the wind,
Past the swaying verticality of reeds,
A hoarse congregation gathers
In aerial praise.
Their binoculars held in reverent supplication,
Man and woman – weekend ornithologists –
Train their eyes on the wondrous flock,
Pause to consider
What cannot be seen or heard or touched rather than revealed,
The finger of God, the descending column,
That which stirs the avian mix
Into waves and swirls,
Transcending the volume of long necks and arched, flapping wings –
Cherubim guardians, seraphim heralds,
Invisible, angelic host.
Here, divinity
Hides under cover of feathers and reflected sunlight,
Subdued and instinctive pandemonium,
The flight of snow geese and egrets
In purified white.
Wetland Hymn first appeared in The Fort Scott Tribune, May 17, 2023.
Concentricity 