they do not loiter
here for long
they say they come
to watch the fish and learn
the ways of water
what it takes to stand
as long as the egret does
doubling the image
on the stilled surface
before it remembers
the length
of its wingspan
but don’t speak
of greatness yet
what is the end
or the beginning
from the middle
which looks both ways
In response to Via Negativa: Above the river.