Get Thee to a Nunnery

(Black Skimmer)

As I studied dozens of images of Skimmers for these paintings, I was struck over and over by the spectacular contrast of their feathers. An old joke came to mind, “What is black, white, black, white, black, white?” The tasteless answer, “A nun rolling down a hill.” I think that goes back to my own 7th-grade years or earlier. Before I knew it, the following words fell out. That’s almost an accurate description of the sensation.

With my apologies:

I laugh at the thought of nuns in habits,
wading on the beach.

They hold their skirts above their knees
to keep them dry and neat.

Carelessly they show their legs
spindly to their feet.

Happily they chat and ignore
my disrespectful pique.