She poses across the pond.
I, at courtier distance,
stand behind branches,
concealing the trail.
She is poised – tall, regal, gilded –
her long yellow-orange beak
an early morning sunbeam
pointing south.
She is sure her parents birthed
a true modern princess,
a unique treasure
of egret-heron blend –
a shining elegant royal
my mother would have painted,
her canvas filling with reflected
gold and green, like paintings on my walls.
How much she would have enjoyed
this portrait I capture,
careful to frame majesty
between wide tree limbs,
on the still pond,
to ensure this regent’s subjects
will forever admire
her grace, her framed image.
Lavinia Kumar
Lavinia Kumar’s latest prose book is of 100 women: Spirited American Women: Early Writers, Artists, & Activists. She’s published 3 poetry books & 4 chapbooks. Poems and flash fiction appear in a variety of poetry journals, & 3 anthologies. She’s received four Pushcart and one Best of the Net nominations.