Wednesday, September 13, 2006

the duck that didn’t quack


The bits of bread thrown into the water bobbed once, never more than once, like a leaf floating to the ground, sank in a lulling rock-a-by motion. Bottom grime hor'dourves for the carpy cousins.

From two stones throw away, a single mallard, of the green headed male specimen paddled closer to investigate. His actions and diversion did not go unnoticed. Geese, two swans, six white ducks and a smaller black bird with a red beak immediately stopped playing with their jacks, yo-yo’s, and Sudoku. What was greeny up to and what is that land lubbin boy buffoon doing so close to the shore. In a mad dash, like paparazzi chasing Brad Pit and the mystery girl, they swarmed and beheld, with their beady black eyes and one red beak, a gallon ice-cream container full of dehydrated fermented morsels being scattered like chicken feed . It is their manna from heaven. The solitary mallard never saw what hit him, the purse, a brick, the old crane’s walker, the frenzy had begun and he was in the way.

That’s what might have happened had I not come to work today.

6 comments:

Pappy Yokum said...

The opportunity cost of taking the time to provide food for your family... and we readers all benefit from a descriptive, well-written piece.

Anonymous said...

Schrödinger's duck,
sitting on a tree,
that fell in the forest when no one was around to hear,
it except the deaf woman who was clapping one hand.

Loved it LH. Just loved it.

Too bad we have to provide for those families huh? Otherwise we'd feed those ducks, oh yes we would.

Anonymous said...

The poor little ducky just couldn't eat any of that food, while all the other duckys...

Sister Pottymouth said...

That is deep, my friend. So deep that my tired brain is not able to wrap itself around its existential meaning. Perhaps a consultation with Joyce Nelson is appropriate.

Lyle said...

Wifey an I discussed this piece at some length yesterday. While going to feed the ducks was never really planned or suggested, there are some truths presented in this story that parallel more than one reality, mostly from a perspective that wifey and I both share.

ps Word verification: hoyes.....so close and yet so far....kinda like this post.

Lyle said...

I should mention that we do have a bucket full of bread crumbs and plans to feed the ducks/geese in the near future.