All night I dreamed of the mallards,
of the drake’s emerald iridescent head
and bold black and white body, of his mate,
shy and dappled brown swimming at his side,
of the way they painted the water with ripples
of blue and gold snatched from the sky, with
the green of the pines from the shore. I heard
the drake’s loud call as it rose from the lake
on powerful wings just to show his mate
how wise she had been to choose him.
And all through the night, they swam
and swam, graceful, knowing,
and at peace.