waddle, paddle
waddle, little duckling
scurry after mama
knock yourself sideways
against a tuft of grass
twice as tall as you are
hesitate at a cliff
three times your height, but
at mama’s squawk
of encouraging command
lift stubby wings to help launch
you out and over onto a sparkling
surface you know
you’ve never walked on before
that moving effervescence
gives under your webbed feet
momentarily, you feel you
will drop down forever
and then you feel your little, yellow
self bob up and down and float
those wide, flat feet begin to move
so you can hurry after mama
paddle, little duckling, paddle
