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# Of Ducks and Kings
- URL: https://www.hawkword.com/poetry/of-ducks-and-kings/
- Published: 2021-07-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-07-13T12:00:00.000Z
- Description: I stare at them: which one will try and take What otherwise might never grace their head Which one thinks that he'd rather rule instead This pack of jackals waits for a mistake
- Author: A. Gee
- Tags: Poetry, Allpoetry Import, #Import 2026-04-25 19:56

I stare at them: which one will try and take  
What otherwise might never grace their head  
Which one thinks that he'd rather rule instead  
This pack of jackals waits for a mistake

Who fantasizes, covets my new wife  
Does she encourage one of them to mount  
Is it the duke, the baron, or the count  
The thought of it does make me clench my knife

I know the duke keeps writing to the Pope  
The baron, to his uncle in Calais  
The count is patient, waiting to make hay  
I mustn’t give them, not a shred of hope

At last the kitchens serve a roasted duck  
I raise a glass, I must make the first toast  
“Well met, my sons, and now, do try this roast!  
As you can see, no feathers left to pluck”

I stare at them: which one will try and take  
What otherwise might never grace their head  
My boys take after me, that’s what I dread  
And I’ve learned all I could from dad’s mistake

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**Author notes:** https://allpoetry.com/contest/2782522-Heroic-Fantasy-195