Larry Schug
GREEN HERON IN RAIN
The light’s not right, too much glare
for a photo through the rain-streaked window,
and not being a painter or sketcher
I turn to words to capture and convey
the image of a solitary green heron,
its rusty breast, pointed crest, stiletto beak,
preening gray/green feathers worn like a cape;
gripping a branch of a fallen aspen
with long feet, orange as its legs.
The steel gray pond bubbles and ripples in the rain,
backdrop of shimmering quicksilver,
a scene that could move an agnostic soul
to believe in the hand of some god,
with no religion to muddy the image, within or without.
Bio: Larry Schug has published his sixth book of poems, “Nails” with North Star Press of St. Cloud. He lives with his wife, dog and two cats near a large tamarack bog in St. Wendel Twp., Minnesota.As I write this I am three days from being retired. Yee-haaa!
About “Green Heron in Rain”: How do I capture this particular “now”? The question that poetry answers best. The privilege of seeing a green heron perched on a dead tree in the rain deserves a payback of some kind. A poem of gratitude, celebration and awe will have to do.
Wild Goose Poetry Review 
Those last lines and image are compelling–no religion to muddy god.