How far will
the reeds bend
in this summer wind?
Their tips touch
the water’s surface
and awaken those turtles
that sought slumber
in the shadows under
bent branches,
or in their leafy dens.
Bowed against the siege,
cattail-arrows seek release,
and suspicious rabbits sneak
along the dry shore, beneath
the notice of avian archers,
whose long beaks are best-suited
to king-fishing minnows, meeting
to discuss the day’s heat.
How far will
the reeds bend
in this breeze?
© CG Tenpenny, 2021.
Art: Pan Among the Reeds, by Böcklin.
