Two Poems

Otters

I’ve never seen them in the wild
or moving in real waters
but now our lucky daughter
tells us she’s seen otters.
First there was a tail
then ripple on the river
and looking at each other
Was that, they said, an otter?

The sun shone like a moon
mirrored on new year river
and then they saw three heads
breaking the surface silver
somewhere above a weir,

V-shapes in the water
swimming towards a den,
...