Poetry by Rose Brightree
this river is scented by its mother
the sea
salt water running upstream
coming to meet it halfway
out of this reunion arise
two blue herons
wearing the sky
on loosened wings
legs floating in midair
like a dancer’s
orange-lily beaks lifted
to the rising sun
gamboge eyes that see the way
light does touching what cannot be touched
any other way the tips of mountains
flight of water that is a
cloud
and as they raise themselves
to the high winds that will
carry them
as their bodies join the far-flung distance unfurling
its wide blue wings
i know they continue to teach me
how to live
Rose Brightree is a poet, artist, classical musician, and passionate nature lover and supporter. Her poetry has appeared in Room Magazine, Contemporary Verse 2, Sistersong: Women Across Cultures, Other Voices, the anthologies Revelation and Winners’ Circle (Canadian Authors Association), and in other print and online publications.
