One Single Impression: Elusive

Years ago
He was aloof
Every morning
Alone
On the shore
And if you so much as
Looked

His way

Even from the other side

He would blink himself
Into flight

And he was gone.

So unlike
The pair of his kind
Who have no idea or care
Who else is there

They are together on edge

Complete

And that is enough for anybody.

But that elusive grey giant--
He is alone
And he should stay

Because he is always alone

And so am I

And I wish he would.

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36 Comments

  1. Evocative. I see a lonely mountain.

    Please check out my post tomorrow if can, Sandy.

    Aloha, Friend!


    Comfort Spiral

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  2. That felt very elusive, like a wisp of smoke on a breeze.

    Silly Saturday #4 - Purdie Pyrate's Halloween

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  3. sad and elusive?

    but once trekked by humankind, it will no longer be.

    have a happy Sunday Sandy...:)

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  4. i shall miss our friend when he heads south...

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  5. interesting the things nature says to us. I wrote a strange poem today about fall. Will probably post it tomorrow.

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  6. Your poetry makes pictures in my mind each time I read it. So lovely, I read over and over again!

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  7. Most fly away to survive not realizing that love can be so nourishing.

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  8. Sandy, I love so much the thoughts and the images of your poetry.

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  9. My imagination went everywhere with this one --- and I enjoyed not being confined ... Thank you.

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  10. You've nailed the word perfectly in this.

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  11. I had this image of a singular grey herron, then a pair. Also thoughts of solitude that can be related to with the dicotomy of being alone together. Very well done. Thank you.

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  12. somehow made me sad.

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  13. Sandy, this is beautiful and mystical. I like the short lines and the way you divided them. Makes me long for the ocean...and someone...

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  14. I could feel the loneliness, and the longing to connect...beautiful, yearning words.

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  15. I know this is about a bird, but somehow I ... identify with it?

    Achingly beautiful Sandy.

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  16. going deep into the heart...!

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  17. seems so very lonely, this creature and yet he choose to be alone, I think we all feel that way sometimes, it's not we want to push people away, just that it's the easier path, I suppose

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  18. How very sad but lovely. Just love the soft sounds of your words and the clear images. Well done.


    love, Melanie

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  19. This reads as if the grey giant chooses to be elusive and alone.

    ...sort of like a hermit.

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  20. A haunting poem with many layers. It's lovely!

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  21. Hi Sandy, if your poem first person wants him to stay away, then so do I. He might very well be a volcano ready to errupt with any one of the continuing ground tremors. Literally or otherwise.
    ..

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  22. I love herons. Sometimes they do stay. And they always know you're there.

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  23. During the year after my father’s death I glanced a heron on a wooded promontory of a lake I often walk. He let me approach quietly and we traced the shore together, he on the watery side and me on the dirt path. I’ve always thought of this as a last dance. My father was a reserved and elegant man. He loved birds. Up until now I have had no words for this experience. Your poem helped me to remember.

    This piece is sparce and achingly beautiful. In a morning mist, forms are amorphous, yet familiar. You have such a gift. Thank you for your kind words on my blog. They made a difference.

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  24. I really liked the words you chose to portray the feeling of elusiveness: aloof, blink, edge, grey, alone. Very nicely done. I think I know the 'he' you were speaking of.

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  25. Anonymous12:25 AM

    terrific poem!!

    you are right on target with this one..

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  26. so tender, thank you.

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  27. Wonderful images; there is a small corner of my heart which is set to aching while reading this poem.

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  28. So you have seen the great blue heron and watched him wing away! Very nicely done, Sandy. Your images and words capture that longing and lonliness, that moment of quietude and unrest.

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  29. ..such a moment of quietude and unrest ..

    beautiful ..

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  30. I know it's about a bird but I kept seeing elephants anyway...

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  31. Anonymous6:29 AM

    I have been trying to get a shot of a heron all for the past year. REally elusive for me.

    Your poem radiates loneliness. It is lovely.

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  32. I love this~ as usual, your poems evoke such strong images...thank you~

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  33. Anonymous11:54 PM

    alone, elusive, edge , grey...all evoke a sense of lonliness gently but very beautifully. Loved your verses.

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  34. Anonymous8:19 PM

    Vivid in evocative grey.

    Beautiful imagery. Thank you

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