Last February I posted about the fifteen heron species I had seen. (I've also seen five kinds of egrets, which are technically also herons, but I'm sticking with the ones with heron in their name.) Over the break from school, I saw a new one, a sixteenth: the Goliath Heron! It's the largest of all heron species, and I saw it on a boat ride on the Nile.
Here's a Galway Kinnell poem about a different kind of heron we have here in Uganda. I took his last line and used it to start my own poem about our boat ride.
The Gray Heron
It held its head still
while its body and green
legs wobbled in wide arcs
from side to side.
Click here to read about the near-mystical experience that came next.
Possibilities
Could I change into something else?
I wonder
as we sail down the Nile
and our guide Moses explains what’s in front of us
in the last week of the year
I peer at other lives through my binoculars:
Multicolored flying flowers,
the Red-throated Bee-eaters
flit back and forth
A lone elephant
eats steadily,
as it must do up to 20 hours a day
to maintain its enormous size.
Raucous laughter from
Eastern Plantain-eaters.
suggest they’re just tickled with the whole wacky world.
Fish-Eagles
survey their territory
from the top of ancient trees
Black Crakes
rush busily
through the reeds
And there’s the Goliath Heron,
enormous and solitary,
fishing patiently in the river.
Could I be one of them?
New year, new me?
Could I exchange my worries for theirs?
Moses tells us calmly
how lucky we are to see all of these creatures
as we sail back to the shore
where we actually live.
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
10 comments:
Ruth, I am amazed by the amount of animals you saw during your boat trip. I saw my first heron two summers ago. It was a glorious sight and it was right in the pond at the front of our community. Since then I have tried to see if it will come back but I am not in the right place when it comes calling. Kinnell's poem did have a surprise inside so thank you for that poem and your poem that shared so many animals. I hope you continue to enjoy Uganda in the new year. Keep on counting the animals you've seen and sharing the news with us.
Each of those other possible lives sounds fascinating! What a wildlife cornucopia!
I look for the heron in early spring every year & when I see it, I know we've said goodbye to winter, Ruth. Thanks for the Kinnell poem, a bit frightening with "ill-fitting skin" & then your query of changing makes me wonder. What a beautiful array of animals you got to see, and the largest heron - wow! Thanks for writing about your trip! Happy New Year!
Wow! I did a Christmas week sail on the Nile many years ago. It was such a treat. I loved it. All those animals that you got to see--wow! And, 16 types of heron...I'm impressed.
Hmm...Such an interesting question, Ruth...My 2025 OLW is unfold -- I don't know if I could change into something else, but I am making space for unfolding and perhaps allowing Grace to transform what is already me into more of me. :). Happy New Year!
This is gorgeous! You really paint the picture of such wildlife abundance. Thank you so much for sharing!
I loved following along on your literal journey and your reflective one as well. I was just thinking about you and the heron that connected us from Maine to Haiti. Seeing herons always brings me great joy, though I'm primarily seeing great blue herons here. (Occasionally a night heron or green heron comes along.) I'm fascinated by how many varieties you have seen! Your poem was rewarding on so many levels---great word choice, interesting information, and powerful reflection. Thanks for sharing!
Ruth, thank you for sharing your Nile boat ride with us! I do think we "become" a bit of the things we give our deep attention to...xo
Wonderful adventure you took us on, to be a part of all that wonder–how fascinating and special, I'm glad you jumped off of that first line! Intriguing poem by Kinnell too, I'm still pondering on it… Thanks for all and wishing you Joy, Peace, and Happiness, with many birds in 2025! 🦅
What a wonderful list of creatures you observed on your journey, Ruth. I like the way you borrowed a line to start your poem. I often use that strategy, too.
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