The Tri-colored Heron

Photo: (c) Jamie K. Reaser

I couldn’t catch it,

that moment that just

passed me by.

How I wish I had tried!

But no,

I let the moment go to

indecision and doubts.

What if I were a tri-colored

heron knee-deep in pond

weeds and shallows ~

I would starve!

The wild makes no concessions

for that which does not

believe itself worthy of a fish.

There are musts in life if

one wants to go on living.

But that’s just it,

isn’t it…

the want.

I wonder:

Is that want,

the one that keens

the senses we’ve been

gifted,

The one ready to grok

 “Now!” deep in the gut

when the heart hungers,

The one that knows

that moments -

like shimmering, swirling,

big-eyed minnows -

must be grabbed

with full-bodied intent…

Is that want the essence

of our Wildness?

Has domestication of the soul

made us feel so uncomfortable

in our own inner landscape

that we have given up the

desire to feed ourselves?

I think you know the answer.

Me?

I’m going to the pond.

To fish.

© 2013/Jamie K. Reaser

From "Re-Union: Coming Home to Each Other" (a work in progress)