People keep telling me

“Get your ducks in a row”

and sometimes, I feel like telling them

that it’s okay for them to wander. 

Why should it matter if all of my ducks

are the Madelines of my mind. 

12 little ducks

in two straight lines. 

Sometimes my ducks 

feel like really heavy rocks. 

I push and I pull 

but they won’t move at all. 

They can’t walk or swim

and I’m stuck trying 

to coax them across treacherous ponds

that I feel like I’m drowning in. 

And so I’ve learned,

that you can’t teach a duck.

It’s simply better for them 

to move on their own. 

My ducks may be lost

or far out of sight.

But I’ll find them eventually

and that’s quite alright.