The Rhyme of the Ancient Heron-er

A heron stood in silence, as a witness on the shore;

He had seen this strange scenario unfold one time before.

It happened on a sunny day, back in the month of June ~

The human male who drove the boat was laughing like a loon

As he flung his flailing sister, (an aging former lass),

Up and down the alley that the humans call Stump Pass.

She was on a yellow tube, and about to be disgraced;

He was at the helm and drove the boat as if in haste

To expose her vulnerability and her ineptitude;

To force her to acknowledge her great decrepitude.

But though he tried to throw her off, as he increased his speed,

His efforts simply came to naught, for he did not succeed.

Instead of flying off the tube, like a pancake off a griddle,

His sister simply got sucked down, right through that old tube's middle.

And now the heron wondered why she'd come back here in September;

If not her brains, her bones, it seems, would cause her to remember

What even an old heron knows, and fully understands ~

That she was putting life and limb into her brother's hands.

And so it was, the brother now revealed a manic grin

As he prepared to take her on a catastrophic spin.

The sister smirked because she'd learned some tips from brother's wife,

And this time she'd out-smart him if he tried to take her life!

And so the merriment began, in earnest, one more time;

The sister rode the tube and looked like she was in her prime!

But her brother was determined to succeed, whate'er the cost.

He drove that boat and laughed as if his mind was truly lost.

With his skill and expertise, and a will to overwhelm,

His sister was a gone-er, with her brother at the helm!

The heron heard the engine roar and saw the speeding craft;

A sinister intent was there, as the crazy brother laughed.

The boat spun left, the boat spun right, the tube was building speed

And the omen was a bad one ~ should the heron intercede?

For the tube was whipping wildly and the heron stood aghast,

Believing that the sister, this time, would breathe her last.

The brother's glee was evident, as he made his final turn;

The heron's face was ashen, as he showed his deep concern.

The rope was taut, the tube was hot, it slid into a swing

That sent the sister upside down, in an acrobatic fling.

Her head was buried in the muck, her torso convoluted;

She twisted like a pretzel, as her brother laughed and hooted.

Then all they heard was silence, and the heron felt such dread

For he thought the sister stood no chance and surely, now, was dead.

Another boat pulled up to her, before her brother claimed her,

And they were heard to say aloud that her brother's prank had maimed her!

But she emerged and stood there dazed, as her brother pulled beside her ~

The heron, though, was quite amazed that this aging, tubing, rider

Had survived her brother's antics without a broken limb;

She had risen from the water ~ and simply glared at him.

And so the sister got back in that boat and rode away,

And the heron heard their laughter, which brightened up his day.

But still, he's left to ponder in his little heron brain

Why some humans show their love

By inflicting aches and pain!

Innocent-looking Brother, Dave

with wife, Janet, who chastised him.

Poem Written 14 September 2011
by Linda Moser Winebrenner (at age sixty-three)
after surviving a Labor Day near-death experience at the hands of my brother