Chinese myth says
wild geese and fish are messengers.

He learns this from Wang Wei
as he reads this poet of rivers
beside his own river
close to where anglers sit

though
he never sees any fish caught.

Today there are plenty of gulls –
no wild geese –
someone has sent an important message
long distance.

Must have been delivered,
for geese now paddle
wearily up river
and one of the flock plods onto the mud flat.

Still no sign of fish.

More geese leave the water.

A cormorant appears
dives
surfaces with a flapping messenger
that he swallows whole.

 

 

Copyright © James Bell, 2005.

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James Bell was born in Edinburgh. After publishing some early work he left poetry, or poetry left him, for seventeen years and re-emerged in 1997. Since then he has been widely represented in small press magazines, issued a CD of poetry and his own original guitar music in 2003 called O’Grady and Mount Fuji, based on a journey round Japan. Now living in Devon, he co-presents "Uncut Poets" at a regular poetry venue in Exeter.