kingfisher’s turn

A poem from the collection “It Begins Like This” (2014)

I remember that tree, struck by lightning before I climbed it.
The absolute shock of the bark, bitten by electricity
And the beat of wing as it caught the night air along the river bank,
Nocturnal bird seeking partner as the seasons fall.

But those memories don’t take away the emptiness of the truth,
That death will take us all, will shape us into insignificance
And remind us that we are just one
Micro-dot in the millions of years of existence.

(November Challenge 12/31)

Also published on Medium.