by William Palmer, 04/16/2020, Traverse City, Mi

Adult Category

A Family of Mergansers

“We’re seeing the world with plague eyes now.”
David Brooks, NYT, 19 March 2020

I like to see a family of mergansers
on the bay, a mother with ducklings
following behind with spiky red Mohawks.

I watch them dive under
one at a time
and wonder when they will surface—

they always rise in different places,
then find each other
and paddle on.