Hebden Heron Poem by C Richard Miles

I watched a scruffy heron, simply pitched
On scrubby islet-patch at Hebden Bridge
Between the muddy black sacks ditched
Beside the flooded beckside, grey amidst
Pink interloper Himalayan Balsam, which
Swayed, nodding like a lama, bewitched
By the sneak breeze. Fearful flickering fish
Scarpered safe as the daft bird perched stiff
Soldier-like in pose for snap-shot tourist pict-
Ures, a between-storm quick-flash summer gift
For albums. Yet I stopped to wonder if
The snaps would be unwatched as the fish
Or pondered rapt as feathered watcher, which
Stopped black and white beside the bridge.