Ruffey and Pukekura
Quark wark wark wark wark -
so speak the lake ducks
on my morning walk.
Well met! They take
me way way back:
mother and son walk
in that Taranaki park;
its swans non-speaking
and ducks much-quacking,
the first I heard speak
and bring me awake
to the life aquatic
and life on wings:
ducks skittered
then flew erratic
to their farther haven,
returning for crumbs
scattered by children.
Notice the pecking
order, the bold
and the timid,
the webbed feet at work,
dipping beaks that take
in crumbs as they sink
in translucent water.
Today's humans
are mother and daughter
sharing laughter
and an old man weighing
there then and here after.
Max Richards
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