The curious absence of ducks in paintings by John Constable
Were there none, or simply far
beneath his notice? Dozens heckle
my arrival, note my eagerness to hide.
I take a room above the mill race,
cry for six hours solid, reading
self-help guides from W.H. Smith.
Apparently it’s all to be expected.
Wailing isn’t so unusual, although
the knowing doesn’t make it go away.
I’m seared by unkind laughter,
loud as driving water, longer
than recrimination, won’t forget
this raucous all night mockery,
the know-it-all malice of ducks.
Since 2011 Kathy Gee has been published in magazines including The Interpreter’s House, Obsessed with Pipework, Ink, Sweat and Tears, ‘And Other Poems’, Antiphon, Acumen and Prole. Her collection – Book of Bones – will be published by V. Press in 2016.