A Common Tern

On our own little jetty jutting out in the lake

As I reached for the fishhook

He called my name

"Look, Anna, it's a common tern"

"What do you love about me?" I asked him

He paused and then said

"I love how much you love me"

I shuddered, maybe I'm done

A common tern

A common tern

A common tern

It's a common tern

It's a common tern

We watched the common terns fly in

Then stop dead, suspended and hung by a thread

We held our breath, they held their place

Then cried out and dived down

It's a common tern

I had a common tern lying in bed next to him

I tried to explain

I take his hook out from my cheek

And place it in his hand

A common tern

It's a common tern

A common tern

It's a common tern

It's a common tern

We watched the common terns fly in

And then stop dead suspended and hung by a thread

We held our breath, they held their place

Then cried out and dived down

And flew overhead

I'm sorry, it's just a common tern