a moment by the River Nith

a heron slowly takes a step, stalking in the shallows,

while darker skies loom low across the hills
and stillness creeps, enveloping the green and ochre fields,

a midday twilight falls

and all along the riverbank, crows fidget on their posts
and warblers stutter out their songs, swaying in a newly urgent breeze.

The air subdues, all sound absorbed, a sudden
coolness, and then a growing symphony, an urgent pattering of rain,
a thousand perturbations as the droplets splitter splash and join the tidal run,
endlessly creating, river, ocean, mist, precipitation

the heron steps slowly, hunched up now and vigilant

Then through the darkness, through the cloud, white light
gleams bright, bursts forth and spreads across the land
the shower eases, patter slows, the quietness returns

and all the trees and all the birds glow bright against the indigo sky
like fire, like spirits they shine and sing and celebrate this miracle, the wonder of it all.

Mike O’Kane, Dumfries 2018