The Duck Rumble

THE     DUCK   RUMBLE

Like a Bronx street cop I saw it coming  :   I could bet……
One gang protecting  its turf against another’s threat.
The mallards were well past the river-bend  just cruising,
Muscling in on eider-land  -  just  asking for a bruising.

Two  small eiders, silent smooth, swam  without effort around
To the five big green-head mallards coming  to face them down :
The eiders called for  black-and-white back-up,  six  en masse
Thinking,  yeah. . . . let’s kick some serious mallard ass.

Green-heads picked up   speed, leaving  a  racy  wake
Thinking,  these migrants  gotta  learn who owns this lake.
The  lead mallard picked his target, readied his beak
Who’s your daddy,   he silently thought  with no need to speak.
One peck at those eider wings and the rumble would be  over.
It was. . . . . . . .the mallards quickly flapped their way back to cover.

Ducks don’t feel the need to kill each other;
Just a flap and a peck and no more bother.
It’s all settled with beak, and signed with plume,  agreed.
Their  lake had lots of room  - no shouts,  no violence  -  no need. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .

Entered  in  Ryan Jackson's  Contest   "Animals on your mind..."
Copyright © | Year Posted 2011

Poem

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Song Avatar
August 30, 2011 at 11:46 AM
Duck Rumble...awwww. A poem after my own heart. I like ducks and all the silly things they do..it's geese that make my skin crawl. They poop all over the bike path and hiss when u want to get past them. Ugh... I like this west side story of ducklings. Gwendolen
Culverhouse Avatar
August 29, 2011 at 7:19 PM
very cute....though I saw the exterminator getting beat up by a goose. those geese are tough defending their stuff. worse than a fighting chicken. hehe
Lane Avatar
August 29, 2011 at 12:50 PM
I know what you mean. We have a constant, loud, bloodless war in our backkyard between the Malards and the wood ducks. Tony
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