The Egret's Flight Coopers Hawk It would never know why

It would never know why its mate had left or where it had gone

The wind came first

knows that this balance of patience

it had witnessed the dawn of spring

the world seemed a little darker

The Egret's Flight Coopers Hawk It would never know whyMigration was hereand before the winds carried it away, the Great Egret let its wing graze the surface of the water that had sheltered it through the seasons. The faint ripple it left behind was a memory in motionof patient hunts among the reeds, of moonlit nights standing beneath the stars, of quiet existence with the marsh itself. It was a farewell, not rushed or sorrowful, but full of gratitude for everything the water had given. Photograph by