Driving through the Applegate
a mile or two
before the bridge
I looked out
to my left and there
beside the road
a farmyard pond
banked with green rushes
and a clump of tall cattails
on one a redwinged blackbird stood
I see it still
in my mind's eye
a male in mating plumage
his epaulet a brilliant
red and yellow
against the sheen of glossy black
as I drove on
I thought that's why we're here
not for dominion
but to be shaken by the beauty
that shows up unannounced
and often when
we're only passing by