The restless Ibis walks

with delicately precise tread

picking its way

through the green, waiving,

whispering  reeds

skirting the river of life.

The immutable Ibis

stands high on an outcrop,

surveying the clouds       

in aqua blue reflection,

everlasting and sacred

to the god of knowledge.

The soaring Ibis

can never ever forget

Thoth and Seshat

and the temple to all gods.

Penelope, in her haunting mantra,

has told me why.

The Restless Ibis Balmain NSW © Dermott Ryder