"Skirmish" by Dan Brotzel

Screeches break the glare of day:

Crows scramble; he is on his way.

Over the roofs the dragon sweeps

(Fuselage of legs, span prehistoric)

And the day’s combat begins.

Crow wings flare, the giant rears.

Reinforcements beat in: He must not land!

Caws intensify, until at last,

Over the chimneys and behind the

oak, Big Bird wheels away.

Later I will wander down to the little pond,

Wondering who won today’s skirmish,

Silently ignored by the island’s Zen statue:

A heron hiding in plain sight.

Dan Brotzel is the author of a collection of short stories, Hotel du Jack (Sandstone/Vertebrate) and a novel, The Wolf in the Woods (Bloodhound Books). He is also co-author of a comic novel, Work in Progress (Unbound). More of his stuff at www.danielbrotzel.medium.com