Mister Duck? He's Dead

by orphan_account

Summary:

Six variations of a poem about Daffy.

Notes:

In a sophomore-level poetry class I took more years ago than I'd like to think about, we were assigned to go watch a sculptor work who made his sculptures by melting plastic buckets, and then to write a poem about it. One of the sculptures was a chained-up, rather psychotic looking hybrid of Daffy Duck and Howard the Duck. Since I was obsessed with The Beach at the time, I decided to write my poem about Daffy. I ended up with several poems about Daffy-- some focused more on the sculpture, and some focused more on the character-- and couldn't decide which I liked best... so here they are all. They're primarily based on the book, but they work for the movie too.

Chapter 1: Duck, with Chain

Chained by Paradise, Mister Duck--
you writhe and watch me with sad spiral eyes that seem to say:
"But just believe in me, son-- only you can
set me free."

You want out, Mister Duck--
one arm reaching for freedom (or death, if they are not the same)--
But by now nothing's close to you
except for me.

Aren't you tired, Mister Duck--
flat feet, spindly body, heavy head hanging low--
But what moves me most is your reaching arm, a branch,
a dying tree.

Don't give up, Mister Duck--
Paradise will burn for you, your wild-eyed stare--
But even though you reach for death--
you still touch me.