One lonely, sparkling cottonball,
so radiant and bright;
an island in the little pond;
angelic, pure and white.

A shining star amidst the dank
and barren April scene;
a single swan, a wayward blot;
majestic and serene.

The field was still all yellow-grey.
The trees were brown and stark.
The pond was bland and colorless
except for one white mark.

The view was fully color-shorn;
a landscape, brown and drab.
Amidst this was one glowing dot.
My focus, it did grab!

Before me, such a contrast, sharp.
To grasp it, I did strive.
...Looked like a faded photograph
with one speck, now alive!

I stopped my truck aside the road.
Intrigue, I was filled with.
The land, I now gazed out upon
seemed like a scene from myth.

Enchantment seemed to flood the air
as, forward, I was swept.
The roadside fence was down, nearby.
Into his world, I stepped.

The swan eyed me approaching
and he scrutinized this act.
He didn't look concerned, at all;
seemed curious, in fact!

As I moved forward, so did he.
We both seemed drawn to meet.
At waters' edge, I stopped. He too.
Each other, we did greet.

A subtle dance, did then ensue.
Distrust, had all been threshed!
And peacefully, we shared this time,
as if our souls had meshed.

'Twas hardly any distance, now,
between me and the bird.
And I could clearly see each
little ripple that he stirred.

He must have paddled, slightly,
for his placement altered, not;
as if, by quickly forming ice,
he'd suddenly been caught!

But movement wasn't there to see;
just stillness 'fore my eyes.
Some breeze-brushed feathers were astir.
But, nothing otherwise.

Then, calmly 'neath a wing, he tucked
his head. He sensed no threat!
A gentle gust then turned him 'round;
...a floating pirouette.

Such artistry, before me,
spurred a joy I could not shroud.
This graceful napping swan was like
a gently, dancing cloud.

He slowly whirled to melodies
which nature did, now, play;
the breeze, his unseen partner in
a watertop ballet.

But soon, per that old saying:
all good things do reach their end,
I had a place to go, which meant
I had to leave my friend.

So little time, I'd had to spare.
My schedule was a thief!
But I enjoyed immensely,
this performance, though so brief.

And dutif'fly, I headed back.
My roadside pause, now through.
I couldn't fathom it improved,
unless 'twas shared--with you.