~The Swans~

Gliding unhurried o'er glossy calm lake , Her six little cygnets close in her wake, The Queen of the Water with regal disdain Silently paddles around her domain ; With careless abandon she fluffs up her gown Of pristine white feathers and softest of down... Then with hardly a glance at the noisy brown teal She sails on majestically.. flicking her tail.

There isn't another nearby to compare To her stately progression and unhurried air; The frog on the lilypad hastily dives To escape the notice of her piercing eyes - When she makes a full curtsey exposing her tail And emerges again with a dead water snail .

Her retinue follow - all bobbing below - Then grandly once more in procession they go. I could watch them forever as silently they Float over the water the rest of the day... But the blue of the sky makes the water shine bright And in mirrored reflection they swim out of sight.

Ella Render
10th June 2002