Mallard Friends

Effortless they fly almost as one

Alighting by my window from the lake,

Speaking in a tongue I understand

Occasionally eating from my hand,

This daily ritual of give and take

In which I am the true recipient,

For I receive their trust, they my food.

Their bodies glisten as with crystal tears.

For me they leave behind their innate fears,

Mallard friends, my feathered brotherhood.

An iridescent magic in the sun,

A oneness that I rarely feel with man

At times they simply come and fall asleep

Before my door and I this compact keep,

A careful steward of a sacred clan.