A wingspan so wide it soared beyond the sidewalk
like a small plane. I turned, I had to turn, find where it landed,

a wader, crested, long-billed, short-legged.
It was dark by now, a crowd had come to watch

the heron standing in a patch of weeds and butts,
a sculpted thing, a bronze, its head plumes almost

Corinthian. Slowly it lifted each blade-thin leg
and then with one swift thrust, cracked its bill,

snatched a bulging rat it chugged down whole.
"It's heavy," you cried, heaving yourself up, pushing

out your arms to stop the fluid from filling your lungs.
I could touch you when you died—toes, earlobes,

soft fringe of hair at the nape of your neck. I could hold
your hand as it turned to parchment, then to gold.
from the journal  BELLEVUE LITERARY REVIEW
READ ABOUT TODAY'S POEM
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward
Black-and-white photograph of Ernesto Cardenal reading his work in 1980
Ernesto Cardenal: Priest, Poet and Revolutionary Dies

"Father Cardenal began writing poetry as a young man, tracing the tormented history of Nicaragua and Latin America as epics in blank verse. Much of his poetry, though, was intimate: love poems that recalled the longings of his youth, finely wrought images of city lights at dusk." 

via THE NEW YORK TIMES
READ ALL TODAY'S HEADLINES
Cover of The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethkes
What Sparks Poetry:
Martha Rhodes on Theodore Roethke's "The Geranium"

"I really heard him. He was talking to me. He was sitting on my bed, drunk and slurring as he said it and he was saying (confessing) 'And that was scary' to himself, but also—I repeat—to me. I was stunned. I thought, 'He can do that? He can do that?'"
READ THIS WEEK'S ISSUE
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest logo
Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest 
(No Fee)

19th annual free contest sponsored by Winning Writers and co-sponsored by Duotrope, with $2,250 in cash prizes, including a top prize of $1,000. Submit one humor poem (up to 250 lines) by April 1.  Published and unpublished work accepted. All entries that win cash prizes will be published on Winning Writers, one of "101 Best Websites for Writers" (Writer's Digest). Final judge: Jendi Reiter. See further details and enteronline
You have received this email because you submitted your email address at www.poems.com. 
If you would like to unsubscribe please click here.

© 2020 Poetry Daily, Poetry Daily, MS 3E4, 4400 University Dr., Fairfax, VA 22030

Design by the Binding Agency