inspired by a wooden duck

ODE TO A WOODEN DUCK

Oh duck!
Your smooth and rounded shape
Fits comfortably into my closed hand.
Your upturned tail and rounded crop
Upheld by two amusing feet -
Less sensitively carved than all the rest
Validate for me your enduring charm.

Commissioned by my widowed Aunt
Expression of her love of birds - and crafted wood
Tenderly caressed by work-worn hands
Now loved by me, her niece, who once
Tried whittling wood with her - such crude results!
A skittle doll with pleated skirt and bowler hat!

My Aunt is dead -
But where now are the hands that carved you?
That local artist, responsive to her needs
Reaching her mind when others only heard
A northern tongue speak brusquely of her wants
Disguising pain and loss too deep for words.