American Bittern

These self-effacing clowns
point their bills straight up
when among reeds
they seek to hide.

Their eyes on the sides of their heads
are directed down
in a pose
that might be of a clown.

Their pumping cries
coming immediately after dark
form a raucous chorus
that could never be described
as a tune.

Their greatest critic of men
is the self-imposed curfew at ten,
so unlike the curfews of men
that are few and unobserved.