Midnight Sentry
~David Martin Fargotstein
I came across a midnight sentry
Perched along a shore
A peculiar kind of creature
I’d never seen before
A mass of feathers, deepest blue
No wings that I could see
No arms or legs or anything
Upon this mystery
I, becoming careless
Due to curiosity
Let slip a stone, it rattled down
And brought its gaze to me
Its feathers ruffled as it turned
In its attempt to see
The interloper, hiding close
Who broke its reverie
Two giant eyes of shining gold
Above a narrow beak
Scanned the rocks to find the sound
And trained themselves on me
It didn’t seem disturbed at all
It didn’t try to flee
It simply fixed its eyes on me
With curiosity
I met its gaze, devoid of fear
And was surprised to see
The creature had begun to move
Slowly towards me
It perched itself upon a rock
And nestled into place
Then it turned its head again
And aimed it at my face
Through a connection made of gazes
I began to fall
Descend into those giant eyes
Without a fear at all
It happened almost instantly
A story being told
In feelings, poured into my mind
Through those eyes of gold
As story of this creature’s past
From egg to what I see
Born aside its lifelong mate
By natural destiny
A life of love, devotion true
With nothing in between
A vision of paradise, in motion
Shown to me
Suddenly, and without warning
Explosions of despair
The sea had risen up and taken
The other of the pair
As quickly as the story started
My wits returned to me
I touched the cyan feathered mass
Its gaze upon the sea
It turned its face to me again
And it was plain as day
This little creature’s joy in life
Had surely gone away
It hopped from perch onto the sand
And moved away from me
To join the lover that it lost
In the waves, beneath the sea
