The Pond With Water Lilies Poem by Gert Strydom

Rooted down into the pond
the water lily's leaves go beyond

the open surface, does cover almost all of the water,
which do fill the battling ground, the small filled crater,

while here and there patches are left open
being places where almost anything could happen,

where the butterfly flutters as to the flowers it passes by
and inquisitive for something to hunt hangs the dragonfly.

The dragonfly rainbow sparkles like liquid metal on the hunt for meat
as it flashes past battle ready to something that it can eat

while much later the eggs of the butterfly hatch in ravenous worms
and enemies do come to prey in all kinds of forms:

as birds landing at the very edge, cats prowling around it
and at a time each one waiting on the moment to strike and hit

while the children's dogs stare at their own reflection
or deeper still into the water beyond and from them there is no protection.

Golden-fishes prowl around looking for mosquito larva as their food
and that everything must survive somehow is understood,

smaller fish swim around and avoid being eaten by the bigger one
and hide among the stems and roots until it is gone

and this cycle of life where each thing does on each other prey
has been in place since the sin-fall day

where smaller systems do fit into bigger ones on which they do depend
and together all do function as if serving each and all without an end

to make a living world where you and I do only the flowers see
where they look as if they are drifting and to us everything looks pretty.

© Gert Strydom