Late Afternoon, with Mallard

Today, at midday, Mother Wood Duck brought seven or eight very young ducklings 

up to feast on the seed the squirrel shakes out of the feeder to pick out the sunflower seeds.

They probably have already been swimming in this pictured stream.

But she saw me (with my camera) through the window and took them right away.

At this point, they can walk and swim, but cannot fly, so as she marched them away;

they followed her in a straight line. It was the first time I have seen wood duck ducklings!

RAIN SONG

The rain a river upended

The flowers plain pink or

cream striped with mauve

laundry left on the line

the outdoor cafe

deserted

except for the tables like lost cattle

a bird flies out of the corner of the eye

making the world

give a little shiver

making everything jump

one inch irretrievably

to the left

and in the green igloos of summer leaves

all the birds

are keeping mum

Roo Borson

A Sad Device, Quadrant Editions, Ontario, 1981, page 13.

I am still in love with Roo Borson! To think that Canada is such a short distance away, and I only found out about this poet last year!  In such a short poem, she makes perfect use of laundry, igloos and cattle as comparisons. And she just lays out the lines the way they need to be!