Ugly Duckling
When I open the door . . .
knock knock
If only it had come with the sweet little girl
Who sold girl scout cookies and looked up to you amiably
Always asking what kind you wanted with utter politeness
When I open the door . . .
KNOCK KNOCK
If only it had been given by that uninvited guest at your dinner table
The one that chewed obnoxiously loud
And grunts with its feet on the table, as he complained about your mom’s chicken
But no
When I opened the door . . .
There were no sweet little girls
No uninvited guests that walked into my life
Instead, there was a duck
I did not mutter, and you did not misunderstand me
An ugly duckling walked into my life
Shining red feathers dripping down its neck
White feathers shimmering in black on its body
An ugly duckling walked into my life and gave me it
It wasn’t very pretty
In fact, I chose to ignore it
Never bothering with trying to open it
But every day, the ugly duckling would come back with it
And every day, I would close the door
But soon, it surrounded me
The ugly duckling came with it everywhere
In tall grasses
In slippery waters
On front porches
On back porches
There was no escape for me
And no decline that stopped the ugly duckling
And so. . .
I gave in
On crouched knees
I allowed myself to open it
I let myself feel
What the ugly duckling wanted so badly to give
It
It was vicious
But gentle
Ferocious and wild
But fierce and pure
I let it melt into me
To flow in my blood and into my mind
A sense of calamity and peace swarmed my mind
It made my fingers move and move
Speaking, Yelling, Roaring
What it gave me
To express what the ugly duckling gave me
Inspiration
Words into sentences
Words into books
Words into art
The ugly duckling was simply a bird
One who stuck around
With persistent eyes, it always came
With or without food, it came to greet us at our door
Brown eyes
White, red, brown feathers
What more is there to say
Than that the ugly duckling
The one who gave me it
Always came to stay