Mates (verse)
Dresbach, Glenn Ward
MATES With feathers dusted by twilight Two ducks from the windy sky Came down to the pool in the willows, And the rest of the flock went by. And the hunter turning homeward Marked the place from...
...Glenn Ward Dresbach...
...Eyes straining down on the grasses, Neck stretched down...
...And knelt and smoothed soft feathersTogether again...
...A dry twig snapped as the hunter Stirred and tested the sight, And wild wings, flashing from water, Whistled in flight...
...the neck of the drake Had dipped all the richest colors From some hushed northern lake...
...And the hunter turning homeward Marked the place from afar and went on, Knowing that he would find them There in the dawn...
...Each breast had a ripple of water Against it...
...The flame leaped after, the thunder Crashed, and it seemed to fill The sky, and the drake's wings crumpled In air, and fell and were still, But the hunter missed in his hurry And the mate was free to go- And she turned and circled over, Eyes straining . . . low...
...The hunter crept in the willows Before the cheek could tell If a shadow had brushed against it Or another slow leaf fell, And soon in the jeweled lights slanting Through shadowy boughs, again He saw them . . . close togetherA drake and a hen...
...so intent For a stir of wings that had fallen...
...And the hunter knew all it meant And fired again while he hated The thing as it happened then...
Vol. 11 • December 1929 • No. 5
