Elevated
Where the continent divides
Mallards grey
And brown and white and black
Green and purple and blue
Yellow and orange
Gather
As family
As community

While the Sun shines
Some bask and sleep
Others forage out of the lake
And others swim and drink
Piercing the surface
Raising their beaks to swallow
Some dip their heads
Then raise straight up
Displaying their breast
As the Eastward wind
Pushes clouds into
Dividing crease
Blowing flakes
To their new homes
Pushing the water's surface
Yielding to its will

Mates follow in twos
Alone and in groups
Dancing and bouncing
Following and followed
Taken over by their natural urge

Silence comes
And leaves with each crunchy quack

Groups fly from the gathering
As others follow
By appointment
Dipping into the wind

Each will pass
Feeding into a new existence
Of their kind
Into a new kind
Passing on traditional ways
To the lineage of future seasons

               January 23, 2010

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