Mergansers

1. Mergansers Michael Redhill Douglas Mclean & Alex Fainblum

2. Thematic Statement • Fat and green and black, duck-thickthey flock slowly through the grass,drawn to the reflecting pool.Seedpods helicopter downand sink under the diamond surfacewhere they become sleek schools of minnow,moving sharp as a single thought.Everything that loves to live comes here,to the edge of water, though it changesthose who gaze or move through it. It's an unhappy element, chained to itself, vanishingat the edge of its own membrane. Merganserswho puddle up through the greeny-blueare devouring the space they came from,and above them we see our solid bodieswaver, two broken skins meeting—an illusioned space. It's food and fire,oxygenated earth, everything that returns:the man reading a paper on the bench,the ducks eating plugs of soil in the grass.It's this paper and this hand. It's as unfreeas any free land. • This poem is about the truth behind the borders of freedom. How the ducks are contained in their pond, and how humans are contained in their country.

3. Paraphrase • Fat and green and black, duck-thickthey flock slowly through the grass,drawn to the reflecting pool.Seedpods helicopter downand sink under the diamond surfacewhere they become sleek schools of minnow,moving sharp as a single thought. • People move slowly, towards their destination • They are drawn to a place where they are safe from harm • A seedpod falls into a pond and get eaten by fish who are darting back and forth

4. Paraphrase • Everything that loves to live comes here,to the edge of water, though it changesthose who gaze or move through it. It's an unhappy element, chained to itself, vanishingat the edge of its own membrane. • Everything that loves to live goes home • A home for many things and people, and the cultural influences change peoples perspective • A very unhappy place because of the lack of respect for others’ cultures and the safety ends at the boundary of their home

5. Paraphrase • Merganserswho puddle up through the greeny-blueare devouring the space they came from,and above them we see our solid bodieswaver, two broken skins meeting—an illusioned space. • People have to go through the mess they made • We are destroying our own world • If we destroy our world we destroy ourselves and everyone else.

6. Paraphrase • It's food and fire,oxygenated earth, everything that returns:the man reading a paper on the bench,the ducks eating plugs of soil in the grass.It's this paper and this hand. It's as unfreeas any free land. • All the things that we do, and then we start again • Both humans and ducks have the same amount of true freedom: none

7. Poetic Devices • Fat and green and black, duck-thickthey flock slowly through the grass,drawn to the reflecting pool.Seedpods helicopter downand sink under the diamond surfacewhere they become sleek schools of minnow,moving sharp as a single thought.Everything that loves to live comes here,to the edge of water, though it changesthose who gaze or move through it. It's an unhappy element, chained to itself, vanishingat the edge of its own membrane. Merganserswho puddle up through the greeny-blueare devouring the space they came from,and above them we see our solid bodieswaver, two broken skins meeting—an illusioned space. It's food and fire,oxygenated earth, everything that returns:the man reading a paper on the bench,the ducks eating plugs of soil in the grass.It's this paper and this hand. It's as unfreeas any free land. • Symbol • Imagery • Hyperbole • Metaphor • Analogy