after Wallace Stevens
Snagged on the headland’s ironstone the storm drains the bay. The water’s surface is electric (with possibility), rain inscribes Pythagorean forms – trios, polygons, hedrons – onto the second-rate swell.
He looks back to the shore and dimly sees a procession of his older self – shoulders hunched in parkas, wet dog stink, tramping loose sand.
A pair of whip birds in the hinterland exchange lightning cracks.
Inverted among the flowering myrtles, an Eastern Spinebill investigates each floret, its parabolic beak axiomatic that the more perfect world is right here in the grey, the haze, the slap of incoherent waves.
Here the fourth day of Spring,
cold as winter
but blossoms everywhere.
Image: patrickkavanagh on Flickr, Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris), I’m on a bit of a bird kick at the moment. Here’s Wallace Stevens’ wonderful poem. A haibun for dverse, the poets’ pub where Mish is hosting and asks about our morning.
Peter Frankis writes 
All that incredible detail comes to life … the parabolic beak as evocative as Stevens’ c before the choir!
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– that’s my absolute favourite line 🙂
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It’s one of my “Oh, I wish I could write like that” lines!!!
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This one is like walking at the water’s edge, waiting for the year to turn, clinging grey. Birds don’t care.
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Nice description: “storm drains the bay”
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So cleverly done. I love all the detail, and thanks for the link to Steven’s poem.
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A pale imitation of ‘The Thing itself…’
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reminds me of a southern hemisphere morning a long time ago, a very descriptive haibun with an emotional connect – I enjoyed this very much
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Thanks so much – glad you enjoyed.
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I enjoyed the visual of the rain forming Pythagorean shapes on the water and the way you connected with the poem by Wallace Stevens. Very interesting to read both.
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Thanks Mish, a fun write.
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‘the more perfect world is right here in the grey, the haze, the slap of incoherent waves.’
Outstanding imagery here, Peter!
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Glad you enjoyed.
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As descriptive as Stevens’ “13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” … a lovely way of looking at morning!
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Thanks Beverly, high praise indeed 😀
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Crytaline.
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This is a beautiful snapshot – filled with details, such a lovely spring blossoming season.
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Thanks Grace – glad you liked it.
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I’m loving the energy of this poem and the geometry rich with possibility and creatures bisecting on planar worlds and that you make us see the axiom of random chaos being just as beautiful as ordered structure. It’s a visually stunning poem, Peter. I will read it again and again.
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Thanks so much Amaya, glad you liked.
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