Poetry
The Local Heron by John Kelly
The poem by the broadcaster and writer John Kelly is extracted from Space, his new volume of poetry, published by Dedalus Press
The local heron passes
low above the house.
He’s made of canvas,
wood and string –
wide and wonky, sailing
through his own
half-hearted utterance –
Leonardo’s flying machine,
just about airborne.
If he goes any slower
he’ll tumble and crash
like a broken umbrella.
His brief metallic echo
is the hacked-up feather
of a poem
sucked ruinously away.
He doesn’t seem to care.
He doesn’t know I’m here
to always overplay the thing –
