On a pale green wall
in electric sunlight
three china ducks
fly up and away
For perspective the leader
has been made small,
the last in line made large
They work their brown wings,
orange feet tucked,
blue faces stretched out
on white-ringed necks
Though they fly all day
and half the night
they stay in our murky sky
First published in Westerly 65(1), July 2020