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THE DUCK RESCUE
2. The Heroics
Rescue workers arrive at the crack of dawn, to miles of sun & water, to the crackle of gun shot, to disturbed & terrified ducks, trying to form a compact flock, trying to gain height to leave the area, shrieking out their big fear, the wetlands is under fire, from the hiding places of drunks, in khaki costumes & rubber boots, pissing in the shallows, cocking the rifle over their guts, whilst laurie levy makes the news, speaks in headlines, the victorian wetlands on his shoulders, rescue workers lifting injured ducks from lagoons, bundled into wet t-shirts, concealed ducks dying under jumpers, broken legs, little nose bleeds, feet shot off, broken wings, eyes shot out, bills & stomachs, broken clouds, broken weather, dying birds, within their sights, bird life slipping through fingers, or placed in hessian sacks, dawn black swans, bend gracefully into death, long necks dragging the lagoons, it is strange to see a water bird drown, & a tortoise found shot dead, & over here, a pelican has been shot in the beak, & stray rescuers are assaulted by shooters, get shot at, arrested & fined, by rangers, police, others are on foot, in kayaks, in power boats or aeroplanes, outraged by the drunken slobs with guns, stray bullets mowing the morning down, ducks spilling in the east, duck rescue operations, are retrieving injured birds, from open water or from reeds, we see laurie on the nightly news, when interviewed, he always says 'duck shooting is a violent, anti-social cowardly act, against defenceless native waterbirds.' |
