SINGLE BIRD

A single bird, a sandpiper,
pranced alone along the beach,
a dancer, feet moving fast, faster,
each step just above the top edge
of so many already crashed waves,
semi-circles of water, transparent
bed covers, trying to cover
the bed of grayish soft sand.

A he sat there, a lonely watcher,
watching this smooth graceful
runner moving back and forth,
back and forth, back and forth,
along the edge of the ocean.

The bird was miming him.
This bird was miming him.
This bird moving and then stopping
from time to time,
tapping the sandy beach
and salty water with beak,
till he found what he was looking for.

The single bird, a sandpiper,
then disappeared into the morning;
and he picked up his towel, paperback
and binoculors,
and headed back to his car
having seen, having found,
what he too was looking for,
and he too disappeared into the morning.

© Andrew Costello, Reflections 2007