Déjà Vu
A certain mallard likes to swim
in my poetic wake;
when I decide to venture out,
behind me drifts this drake.
It is no mere coincidence
his work comes after mine;
he watches where I choose to go,
then follows by design.
Perhaps I should be flattered by
his interest in a hen;
I find my feathers ruffled at
the sight of him again.
Jane Blanchard lives and writes in Georgia (USA). Her new collection is Sooner or Later (2022; reviewed here).