Rehoboth Bay
after Jane Kenyon
I was walking on the dock—
the kind of activity I go out of town to do—
where waterfowl float below with their young.
My wife and I fell behind the laughter
barreling toward the shore end
and at that moment, we heard a melody.
A red-winged blackbird intonated a hymn,
before flaunting his red and yellow
shoulder pads and jet-black suit.
His appearance here is like the reverend
at the funeral parlor: the one who brought
solace last Thursday, for the family of a man
that he did not even know.
Andrew Williams is a family man, pastor, professor, and poet living in Pennsylvania, USA.