There Was a Time

I could not bear to watch
a cormorant in flight—
neck cleaving the paper sky
wings panic-paced on
insufficient air—

even resting looked like work:
breast waterlogged, neck askew,
wings broken umbrella struts
held aloft to dry

Today, at Lobos, a cormorant takes to air
stitching sea to sky with easy grace
she looks to me lighthearted
energized by flight

even resting is a glad thing—
settled on a rock, black-robed
she finds her posture
sleeves spread in meditation

Who changed?

Catharine Lucas‘ creative work has appeared in Digital Paper, Magazine, and Asilomar Poets, 1974-1980 (Equinox Press). Her academic writing is published under the name Catharine Lucas Keech. She is a professor of English, emeritus, at SFSU.