A poem by Gill McEvoy

 
 
Kingfisher, Bachelors Bridge, Caldy Valley, Chester

Perfect, this bridge, for leaning
on the dipped curves in its steel
patterned with dragonfly and frog.

Perfect for watching
the reflection of three willow trees:
ridged bark pleats green water.

Perfect for the bed of yellow flags
in the mud-marsh at its edge,
for a Labrador to leap into its pool.

Exactly right for that rare second
a spark of blue zips past,
startling the water with its image.

Gone
as soon as it is mirrored there.
 
(previously published in Acumen)
 
 
Gill McEvoy has had two pamphlets with Happenstance Uncertain Days and A Sampler, both out of print. Two full collections from Cinnamon Press The Plucking Shed and Rise. Further pamphlet Philomela due from Happenstance in 2015. She is a Hawthornden Fellow. Blogs at redbotinki.blogspot.com. Twitter @Mcevoygill