FEATHERED GALLEONS
Swans - eight white-sailed galleons
Bobbing on the choppy River Boyne,
Without tacking, heading into the wind:
Flotilla - organised, disciplined,
Sailing in line ahead through the spray,
Their feathers fluttering in slight disarray
As they stroked their way upstream:
White eight on a watery light beam.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NOTE
The River Boyne is a very picturesque river in Ireland.
DUCK DAY
In Primorskaya today the river ice was breaking.
Two mallard ducks were celebrating
In a Lake-Huron-shaped patch about one square metre,
Taking an enthusiastic bath, making selves look neater
Dipping their heads in many times for glee -
First bath in six months or so, maybe;
Then a short swim: paddles about a dozen.
The river is still mostly frozen,
But ice all around looks moth-eaten now.
Many dark patches where water is just below:
That liquid map of the Great Lakes in motion
Is changing rapidly into the Pacific Ocean.
Long winter, and springtime’s shorter -
But ducks are celebrating the triumph of water.
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