Now we see why Helmet was gone of late,
And it comes with quite a revelation:
Helmet is a girl! Had she gone to mate?
She has her nest in the same location
As Mom did, at the laundry room between
The AC unit and wall adjacent.
It's perfect, shortly before this we'd seen
Her reappear amongst this family
Who hatched right there on that very same scene.
Many little soon-to-be progeny
Beneath her downy bosom incubate,
And we pray she's rewarded handsomely.
The second generation to propagate
Since we began to keep tabs on our friends
Is upon us; it's a difficult wait.
It's still months until brooding season ends.
I pray they will be kept safe from the drakes,
Or if birds-of-prey-disguised death descends.
Although anxiety for these ducks makes
Up quite a chunk of my expectant thoughts,
To see them flourish my waiting heart aches.
Little puffs of down all around her dot
Her nest where we counted somewhere around
Eleven eggs within this most blessed spot!
Who can wait to hear that heartwarming sound—
Ducklings cheeping in perfect innocence
As they swarm and skitter across the ground?
This season continues with cryptic hints,
The swapping days of warm and cold belie
Their secret day of hatching's imminence.
Newborn mallards have hatched somewhere nearby,
Perhaps on this first day of the new year.
Soon Helmet's chicks will poke out and arrive.
Though nothing more of the future is clear,
I dream of them joining us in growth here.
Published
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