keeping their secret
bitterns become
reeds

6 Responses

  1. Bruce Feingold Says:

    Lovely image & true to the bittern experience: I remember the awe & mystery (the secret) of seeing
    my first bittern in the California Central Valley. Nice!

  2. David Gross Says:

    Thanks, Bruce.

  3. Magyar Says:

    __ Ah David, those rules of nature so well imagined; the life of one, another's food. _m

    small fish
    swim within these reeded legs
    another life.

  4. David Gross Says:

    Thank you, Magyar.

  5. seaviewwarrenpoint Says:

    I imagine something has just startled the bitterns, causing them to stand perfectly still with necks stretched upwards in order to blend with the marsh vegetation, effectively making them 'become' reeds. But I wonder what secret is being kept…it's an intriguing first line. What could the birds have witnessed in the marshland? The reader is left to imagine a narrative.

    marion

  6. Alan Summers Says:

    keeping their secret
    bitterns become
    reeds

    —DAVID GROSS

    Wonderful poem! And they are fantastic at camouflage aren't they! I love the line break!

    bitterns become
    reeds

    Great haiku!

    .

    Never seen a bittern in the wild, so I'm envious, but have had haiku published in the fantastic illustrated Inking Bitterns (Gert Macky Books December, 2013) ISBN-10: 0992678315 ISBN-13: 978-0992678319.

    re secrets:

    dirty secrets
    my lifeline speckled
    in leaf light

    Alan Summers
    Does Fish-God Know (YTBN Press 2012)

    .

    secret garden
    a clue to everything
    lies with the crows

    Alan Summers
    Mainichi Shimbun, Japan (July 2016)

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