nibbled to death by ducks

nibbled to death by ducks

there isn’t much that’s left of me

some bones and hair and strips of flesh

i am being slowly, relentlessly nibbled to death by ducks

all that once was pure and fresh

has long since succumbed to obscenity

my shriveled soul has slipped my grasp and sank beneath the muck

death holds a paltry, insignificant fear

compared to premature decomposition

pain, though unpleasant, shrieks i’m alive

not agony, but numbness plots the course of my deletion

and at night in deathly dark i strain my ears to hear

the flutter of wings at my window as they arrive

soft thudding of webbed feet

creeping closer while i feign sleep

struggling to stay still in hopes that they will wander off

my fingernails, grown long, lacerate my useless skin

and i hear, dear god, i hear their muttered, quacking soft

my eyes, shut tightly shut, squirt tears as i quietly weep

then the first cold bill nudges me

and the feeding frenzy begins