High Forest Perch
We paddle toward Buzzard Island
so densely forested with bright red
bottlebrush, fan palms, and cedars
under a bright blue Florida sky,
and high atop a stark live-oak
stood a regal bald eagle
staring intensely for rising fish
not too far from our canoe
Poem by Richard F. Fleck
Richard Fleck is an 83 years old poet whose poems have appeared in a variety of journals including Appalachia, Trumpeter, Christian Science Monitor. and Paintbrush. His most recent collection is Bamboo in the Sun: Poems of Japan, 2000.