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The Fact Is...

Text of Poem

A duck ate the worm
and I ate the duck,
so without stretch or squirm
worm lifts from the muck
as the tree of life shows
how branch after branch
from sea slime we rose
in a chromosome dance
to climb where we are.
So now worm ascends
as it follows my star
to limitless ends
if my soul proves its name.
But earth’s hunger for man
will make me worm’s game
when I follow time’s plan,
so I eat what I can.

First Line
A duck at a worm
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1979
Original Citation
Poetry View (23 Sept. 1979) 14.
Complete Poems
371
Word Count
83
Poetic Form
open
Themes