Monday, July 16, 2012

poem || Jeff Harrison


 
The Ducks of Cotton Mather
 

THE WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD

the Laysan Teal has
a dark head & neck,
fourteen plumes (&
seven are of gold),
a white ring around
the eye, a blurred blue
ring around the bill,

the same

blurred blue ring around
Cotton's incapable sleep

thievish is the Laysan Teal,
&, as such, surreptitious

seven of the plumes: hopeless
(the same that are of gold)

the Laysan Teal resembles
the female Mallard, but
more reddish-brown

*

BRONTOLOGIA SACRA

the female Mallard is
mottled
buffy-brown in color
a pale eye-brow
a dark stripe through the eye

she peruses darkness
her raptures are unprinted
(raptures imperfectly corrupted)

the male Mallard has
a metallic-green head
& neck separated from
a purplish-brown breast
by a white ring

the same

white ring around
the Laysan Teal's eye

their bodies generally go
unburied, male & female

*

HUMILIATIONS FOLLOW'D WITH DELIVERANCES

the Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)
is the sole representative of its genus. it's
marked like a harlequin & is also known as
the Rock Duck, the Mountain Duck, the Squealer,
& Lord and Lady. a mountain duck that frequents
swiftly running streams. hunters often hang rhymes
on their wings. always there's a line about rain-haunted
skies. "Come, barren Graces", while improbable, is
a traditional beginning to these rhymes.

*

NARRATIVES OF THE INDIAN WARS

the Ruddy (Spine-tailed, Heavy-tailed,
Quill-tail, Stiff-tail, Bristle-tail, Sleepy,
Fool, Deaf, Shot-pouch, Daub, Stubble,
Twist, Blather, Scoot, Hickory-head,
Paddy, Noddy, Dinky, Hard-tack) Duck is
equally fond of salt, brackish, & fresh water.
its flight is rapid, with a whirring sound,
occasioned by its wings' concave form.
they ease to whatever the dawn requires.

*

A VOICE FROM HEAVEN

tho web-footed, Mandarin Ducks
have the power of perching.

branches of trees overhanging ponds.

the tunefulness of iron clasps.

the Chinese, who use these ducks
in marriage ceremonies, are loathe
to part with them to visitors.

Herr Bibliothekarius, in April 1836, wrote
William Wormswork, "I could more easily
send you two live Mandarins
than a pair of Mandarin. Ducks."

they are the only ducks that prefer captivity,
"longing," in Herr B's words, "at the chains' clarion"

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