THE SEAGULL


The water is calm

Green waves, up and down

White caps still tame

Then they come

First one alone in the sky

White with gray tipped wings

The scavenger of the sea

He begins to circle

The sky calm

Clear but resonating

Circling without end

Then another to join the dance

Now there are three

Soon to be many

The clouds come

Above the bay shadows

Too many to count

Thousands waiting for the storm

It is coming soon

They wait by the shore

Leaving the ocean behind

The sound is deafening

Circling low and high

And then the rain

Some settle to the ground

Others, most stay skyward

The air brisk

The waves become steeper

The ceremony continues into the night

Thunder and lightning

Still they fly

Thousands in the dance of life

The shore across the bay invisible

Through the thickness of wings

Every storm they come

The skies become peaceful

The dance ends

As quickly as it began

One seagull dancing in the night

Ever watchful for the coming storm


Michael V Hechtman