We went to spot a trogon\u00a0and I began to hum,
\npicking paces down a path\u00a0greater than their sum.<\/p>\n
Milky lime, the river,\u00a0sometimes smoky jade;
\nin the brush, bromeliads;\u00a0red orchids in the shade.<\/p>\n
Cawing to the trogon\u00a0as if we knew his sound,
\nwe surely drove him farther\u00a0in the dim background<\/p>\n
where flashes off the river\u00a0flitted with the breeze
\nand likenesses of birds\u00a0flocked behind the trees.<\/p>\n
At length we reached\u00a0the ambit of a murmur
\nfirst confused. From hush\u00a0there rose up whispers, firmer<\/p>\n
round each bend, until\u00a0we knew a roaring
\nfalls could best explain\u00a0the din, though its pouring<\/p>\n
as it filled the pool came\u00a0to form a quiet cove,
\na hollowed cell recessed\u00a0within the tangle of the grove.<\/p>\n
I looked up through\u00a0the rainbow spray where
\nmy creature should have been,\u00a0emerald scarlet in the air,<\/p>\n
thoughts of ruby green.\u00a0The water\u2019s plunge made the bluff
\nbeside it soar, but no bird\u00a0perched up in that rough.<\/p>\n
Mine remained the rarest\u00a0bird, one that\u2019s never flown.
\nThe echo of his dearth\u00a0is for my ears alone.<\/p>\n