BY HOLLY DAY
Copyright is held by the author.
The anhinga spreads its wings open to shed the day’s heat
looms like a bedraggled, cartoonish vampire bat
caught in the mid-afternoon sun. It flaps its greasy wings
and throws its head back, glares at the few people on the river bank
watching its inglorious preening.
Behind it, a tree is filled with more birds, shoulders hunched
feathers drooping in the heat. A snowy egret perches
in the topmost branches, its white feathers dazzling
in the bright sunlight. it spreads its wings as if in mock parody
of the bird directly below.
