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Hello to All D’Versians gathered here today at this site of pubtalk and poetry! Lisa here, host(ess)ing Open Link Night.

It’s not live today, but please mark your calendars now for Thursday, June 24, at 3pm EST, as that night will be live and Björn will be our OLN LIVE host. After this fun time of camaradarie where you can see other pubsters and hear them read their poems, dVerse will be taking a 2-week summer break, returning on Monday, July 12.

I hope you are enjoying our world, wherever you happen to find yourself in it. In Western MI, USA, it’s been in the 70’s and 80’s all week with a gentle breeze and a cloudburst or two. Trying to think of a nice intro to OLN, I came across an interesting article in Atlas Obscura, which is a source of endless fascination for me. As plants and animals grow, so do the insects that are a part of the ecosystem. Honeybees, butterflies, and ladybugs are welcomed additions. Slugs, larvae that eat fruits and vegetables, and wasps not so much.

Since 1983, on the Vergenoegd Löw Wine Estate, just outside Cape Town in South Africa, 2,000 Indian Runner Ducks live on the estate and each morning are led to the vineyards as natural pest controls. See them on their morning parade:

To continue on the duck theme, I sought a fun duck poem and found this delightful one by Edward Lear, “The Duck and the Kangaroo,” read here by Hannah West:

The Duck and the Kangaroo
By Edward Lear

I

Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,

    ‘Good gracious! how you hop!

Over the fields and the water too,

    As if you never would stop!

My life is a bore in this nasty pond,

And I long to go out in the world beyond!

    I wish I could hop like you!’

    Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

II

‘Please give me a ride on your back!’

    Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

‘I would sit quite still, and say nothing but “Quack,”

    The whole of the long day through!

And we’d go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,

Over the land, and over the sea;—

    Please take me a ride! O do!’

    Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

III

Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,

    ‘This requires some little reflection;

Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,

    And there seems but one objection,

Which is, if you’ll let me speak so bold,

Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,

And would probably give me the roo-

    Matiz!’ said the Kangaroo.

  IV

Said the Duck, ‘As I sat on the rocks,

    I have thought over that completely,

And I bought four pairs of worsted socks

    Which fit my web-feet neatly.

And to keep out the cold I’ve bought a cloak,

And every day a cigar I’ll smoke,

    All to follow my own dear true

    Love of a Kangaroo!’

V

Said the Kangaroo, ‘I’m ready!

    All in the moonlight pale;

But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!

    And quite at the end of my tail!’

So away they went with a hop and a bound,

And they hopped the whole world three times round;

    And who so happy,—O who,

    As the Duck and the Kangaroo?.

Now if that wasn’t just ducky I don’t know what is.

Just a reminder: Open Link Night means you can post ONE poem of your choosing (no specified form, length, word prompt etc.) Also, we request you either TAG dVerse or include a line at the end of your post that includes a link back to dVerse.

Those of you new to dVerse, here’s how to participate:
• Post any poem of your choosing on your blog or website.
• Click on Mr. Linky below to add your name and enter the direct URL to your poem
• On your blog, please provide a link back to dVerse. This enables others to enjoy our prompts, increases our readership and thus increases the responses to everyone’s poems. 
• If you promote your poem on social media, use the tag #dverse poets
• And most importantly, please do read some of the other responses to the prompt and add a short comment or reaction. Everyone likes to be appreciated! The prompt is “live” for several days – as you’ll notice by the comments you’ll receive – so do stop by another day and read a few of the latecomers too!

Sources:
Atlas Obscura
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