The moon was at her fullest at about 04.30am but I
couldn't get out for then. I left work at 7am and drove straight to
the River Dee. She was beginning to set by the time I got close, but
I did manage to see her from the drivers seat as I sped along the
dual carriageway, in a clear indigo sky she was there, massive and
white, glowing through the thin white cloud that hung above the
horizon, looking for all the world like the eye of a white dragon,
seeing all.
By the time I got to
the river, she had gone, and the first hint of sunrise showed on the
horizon as I settled on the rivers edge. I stood with the water
lapping at my feet, the river in full flow, and jet black, like a
huge snake twisting through the landscape. Staring, watching as the
eddies created spirals on the surface of the water, spinning and
moving around with a life of their own.
A buzzard screamed and settled at the top of a beech tree opposite me on the other bank. Screaming, screaming, until it was answered by its mate further off. The hawk of dawn on the Eastern bank.
I watched the buzzard for a while, and when I looked back down again at the water, the river had taken on the colour or the coming dawn, no longer a black serpent, this was now a river of blood flowing through the field and past my feet. A white mist slowly rising from the surface, contorting into shapes and dancing as it vanished in to the chill air.
I called to her, softly. Gently, whispering my words for her as I stared into her depths, my eyes losing focus, but open to see whatever would happen. I called for her, if she would show herself to me, and stepped into the water, one foot, and then the other, expecting a shape to emerge from the dancing mists. I knew she wouldn't let me down...
Unexpectedly, a dog -a dalmatian – appeared as if from nowhere behind me. Startled slightly by my presence, he stood and barked at me, moving around to get a better view of what I was doing, still barking at me. I laughed and said hello, I had been startled, expecting something, but taken by surprise by the appearance of the dog right at that moment.
Hello, and thank you for your presence.
The dog bounded off to catch up with its owner, the moment was finished, the buzzard too, had left. Both feet in the water now, I dipped my hands into the dark water and washed my face, running damp hands through my hair, thanking her for her unexpected response.
Leaving the waters edge, I stood in the field and watched the mist rising from the frosty grass. Through the mist came another man, walking his black dog, who stopped and sniffed my hand. We exchanged greetings and he asked me where my dog was, I should have a dog, he said.
“Ah, she died” was my reply, thinking of my old dog who had passed away a couple of years ago, as he carried on with his walk.
A buzzard screamed and settled at the top of a beech tree opposite me on the other bank. Screaming, screaming, until it was answered by its mate further off. The hawk of dawn on the Eastern bank.
I watched the buzzard for a while, and when I looked back down again at the water, the river had taken on the colour or the coming dawn, no longer a black serpent, this was now a river of blood flowing through the field and past my feet. A white mist slowly rising from the surface, contorting into shapes and dancing as it vanished in to the chill air.
I called to her, softly. Gently, whispering my words for her as I stared into her depths, my eyes losing focus, but open to see whatever would happen. I called for her, if she would show herself to me, and stepped into the water, one foot, and then the other, expecting a shape to emerge from the dancing mists. I knew she wouldn't let me down...
Unexpectedly, a dog -a dalmatian – appeared as if from nowhere behind me. Startled slightly by my presence, he stood and barked at me, moving around to get a better view of what I was doing, still barking at me. I laughed and said hello, I had been startled, expecting something, but taken by surprise by the appearance of the dog right at that moment.
Hello, and thank you for your presence.
The dog bounded off to catch up with its owner, the moment was finished, the buzzard too, had left. Both feet in the water now, I dipped my hands into the dark water and washed my face, running damp hands through my hair, thanking her for her unexpected response.
Leaving the waters edge, I stood in the field and watched the mist rising from the frosty grass. Through the mist came another man, walking his black dog, who stopped and sniffed my hand. We exchanged greetings and he asked me where my dog was, I should have a dog, he said.
“Ah, she died” was my reply, thinking of my old dog who had passed away a couple of years ago, as he carried on with his walk.
Walking up through the
field, I stopped and turned to watch the sun rise above the trees and
decided it was time to go home. It felt as if I had only been there
minutes, but two hours had passed.
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