–– January 6th 2023, Epiphany
I scared a pair of moorhens from their nest.
They took off from the riverbank, two arrows
skimming the water, abandoning the cover of rushes
for the cover of dark at estuary’s midpoint
where a single rock with a few strands of tall grass
harboured them just out of sight, masked now
by the fading light. I scared a truth
buried in my heart, a small gulp of air
rising in my throat until I swallowed it down,
my eyes watering as I took it in, whole.
I looked out to the rock, the moorhens only visible
to me because I had seen them travel there.
Two smudges in the gloom, turning this way
and that, looking for their next move.
______________
Fiona L Bennett is founder of the award-winning podcast The Poetry Exchange. Poems have appeared on BBC Radio, in journals including The Rialto and San Pedro River Review,
shortlisted in The National Poetry Competition and The Bridport Prize. She has an MA (distinction) from The Poetry School / Newcastle University.
This poem was chosen by guest editor Tom Branfoot.
Lovely