If I were a duck, oh the things I would do

Adrift on a lake, a feathered canoe.

I would paddle around, not a care at all

From dawn till dusk, from spring to fall.

A life of leisure, no job, no grind

Just a life to live and food to find.

Come Winter time, I’d fly where it’s warm

Escape from my troubles, and never be torn-

between obligation to others and care for myself

No feelings of guilt over my mental health.

Yet, perhaps, my dream is flawed

Is life so simple on the pond?

To bob along, to seem at peace,

But what, in fact, could lie beneath?

Kicking feet, in perpetual turmoil

To stay afloat on a roiling boil.

Calm and fearless, in appearance alone,

Yet striving to not sink like a stone.

Deception and facades to mask it’s plight,

Hidden below, away from the light.

Once misinformed, but now I see

A duck, I already seem to be.