22 May 2012
Who were you to say I was ugly And that the way I looked was wrong? You decided that I didn't fit And told me I didn't belong!
From then on it was war on me As you tried to drive me away Your spiteful comments and your scorn Worsened everyday
Your kicks and hits and hatred thick Broke me down until I fled Being so young and new to the world I should have wound up dead
Looking at my reflection In the waters of the lake I wondered whether I'd look as bad Grown up, as a drake
Would I ever take a wife? Could I find one amongst the reeds? For a duckling can finally be considered A drake if he succeeds
Somehow I made it, I survived A year left on my own Pushed around from pillar to post Still fearful and alone
I encountered magical looking birds One quiet morning in June I was so sick of life I asked If it would be over soon!
They looked at me like I was strange Asked why I wished to die They told me to gaze on my reflection And so astonished was I!
I looked like one of them These beautiful things! With a long graceful neck And powerful wings
My feathers had turned from dirty grey To as pure as freshly laid snow To think that I had been a swan For a year and didn't know!
So I returned to the lake Where I had first hatched out To show my siblings what had come Of that ugly and odd little lout
So now you see just how foolish You proved yourselves to be You can never judge a duck by its egg It could be as handsome as me!
I.Sparrow
Ugly Duckling? Whatever... • Opuss № I