The Swallow Who Couldn’t Follow,
The Duck Stuck in the Muck,
And The Peacock Who Couldn’t Strut

By

Glenn Allen Nolen

Copyright © 2000 by Glenn Allen Nolen
All Rights Reserved

The Swallow Who Couldn't Follow,
The Duck Stuck in the Muck,
And The Peacock Who Couldn't Strut

One day a swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Met a duck stuck
In some muck,
And a peacock, 
Who couldn't strut.
Was he ever in a rut?

They quickly became friends.
It was quite a feat.
Because the swallow chirped,
The duck quacked, 
And the peacock made a lot of noise.
Only by accident did they meet
Getting blown together by the wind.

The peacock, 
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut? 
Stood up after the gust
Saying: "I'm not broken, but I sure did bend.
What condition are you boys in?"
 
While the swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Burped. Then he said: "I must
Smell like rust."
So he cleaned, 
And he preened his wings in disgust.

He hacked rocks
Asking the duck 
In the muck, 
How he got stuck.
                          
The duck replied: "We were playing follow the leader.
I saw this tree of cedar
And attempted to land.

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Somehow, I misjudged
And got jammed
Into this abysmal of water and sand,
I would appreciate a helping hand."

So the swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
And the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Picked up a loose vine
To use as a towing line,
In an attempt to free 
The duck
Stuck in the muck.

They had to hover
Like bees;
But apparently, 
The duck was so covered
With mud that even with one end
Tightly wrapped
Around his bill,
The swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
And the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Were held still. 

The duck stuck
In the muck
Was trapped.
Like a humming bird at a bud of flowers,
It was caked
And baked 
On absurdly
                          
Like flour:
Enough to descend,
Luckily, he could still mend.
If his new friends
Freed him from the muck where he got stuck.  

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Again, the vine tightened
And a deer
And a steer
Must have been frightened because they ran away in fear.

The swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
And the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Pulled and pulled to no avail,
On the third try,
They knew they had failed.
When the duck stuck 
In the muck
Didn’t fly.
He couldn't even try.

As they thought
Of a different way
To save
The duck
Stuck in the muck.
The peacock talked
About better days,
And the swallow walked.
Then having an idea,
The peacock ran off saying: "See Ya!"

An hour went by
Before the swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Said: "I'll make one more try.
Maybe if you swim 
That might loosen a limb."
                            
So the swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Picked up the vine
And started to fly.
He flapped his wings and flapped his wings.
Until he thought he would die.
At that point, he started to cry.

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He didn't know what the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Would bring.
He just knew the duck
Was stuck and in a bind.

The peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Came back
With a strap
Found in a cave.

The swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Said: "Where did you find that thing.
It looks like a big ring."

So they pulled and they pulled,
But the duck stuck 
In the muck
Didn’t budge.
He said: "I'm like a goose in fudge.
I won't hold a grudge.
I'm sitting in frozen sludge."

Then the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Ran off again.
As the swallow,
Who couldn’t follow,
Said: "What kind of friend,"
But the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
                             
Was he ever in a rut?
Returned a short time later
Saying: "I couldn't get close to the deer or the steer.
They ran away from me like I was a gator."  

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The peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Turned to the swallow,
Who couldn't follow,

As he prepared to take flight
Saying: "I hope that deer
And the steer
Don’t fright
When I light in their tracks.
That deer
And that steer
Both had quite a rack.
We can use for leverage if they agree to come back."

Before the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Finished another story
About a hen 
Named Lori.
Who was penned 
And caged 
By a brut named Rory.

The duck stuck
In the muck, 
Who had not had a beverage
In days, 
Became enraged from the details of the story.

The peacock, 
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Made it sound so gory.
                                 
Then they both heard
Something that sounded 
Like a herd,
But their fear 
Of being trampled was unfounded.

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When the dust 
Settled and cleared
The deer 
And the steer
Appeared from a cloud of loud colored rust.

They plowed their racks in the dirt.
Until the steer
Lost a horn.
That sludge 
Was so packed.
It was torn,
And it had one loud crack.
It was the sound
That abounds 
When a baseball bat
Goes splat.
You know that!

"Are you hurt?”
Said the duck
Stuck in the muck.
Only the steer
Was to confused to hear.

The duck stuck
In the muck
Answered with a quack,
But it was rather lack.
His voice possessed no force.
He had become so hoarse from his discourse.
                                  
Then the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Said: "Where is that swallow." 
The deer
Immediately understood
Saying: "He couldn't follow.
Look that horn is hollow.
I'll wrap my rack in the dirt.
Until it begins to hurt
Making that vine
Feel like a hood of mine.
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Then you take
Your one good horn
And make
That strap
Pull until it can expand
Like a rubber band,
Until it no longer bounces back,

We can each take a side.
Like when someone tries to eat an ear of corn.
Then we can glide
It all behind 
The duck
Stuck in the muck.
Let's see if he flies."
	
To the duck stuck
In the muck,
The deer 
Said: "Beat your fear.                        
With any luck,
We can pluck you from the muck."

A few moments later,
They were ready to try.
Their persistence
Made the duck stuck
In the muck 
Begin to cry.

With one big jolt
The deer
And the steer
Ran off like a newborn colt.
Throwing that duck,
Previously stuck
In the muck,
Extremely high 
In the air
Letting the wind
Clean its wings.
Like we wash our hair.
You never saw so many things
Start to fling.
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It was like watching a washing machine
Use its automatic wring.

There had been no resistance.
That duck 
Came unstuck
Leaving a crater ten feet wide.
That hole, 
Which could support
A fort
Or a family of moles,
Would be hard to hide.
And no one tried.
                                
Then the duck,
Previously stuck
In the muck,
Flapped his wings
And started to fly
Watching the swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Float on by.

"Where have you been?”
Said the duck 
Freed from the muck.
"I got lost!"
The swallow,
Who couldn't follow,
Embarrassingly replied.
"You’re looking thin.
That's no lie.
Let me lead,
And we will find 
A place to feed,
I see the deer
And the steer
Freed you from sitting in the muck of the permafrost for a full year.	
You have got luck on your side."

That's when they dived
Sitting on the deer
And steers' hide,

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Unwrapping the strap and the vine.
They did it one tiny centimeter at a time.       

While the peacock,
Who couldn't strut,
Was he ever in a rut?
Began to entertain 
The steer,
The deer,
The swallow,
Who still couldn't follow,
                              
The duck, 
Previously stuck
In the muck, 
And all the little creatures 
Who came out to cheer.

They needed bleachers
To hold the audience that gathered.
That peacock, 
Who couldn't strut,
Came out of his rut
Having that audience lathered.
You would have thought.
He had been a featured
Motivational speaker 
Or used car dealer.
There would have been no stealers,
And you would have bought.
He lectured in rhyme.
Certainly, no one confused him with a pantomime.
That's when everyone knew he was fine.  

Then the duck,
Previously stuck 
In the muck,
Thanked all of them.

As the deer 
And the steer
Started to graze.
He thanked the world for his upcoming days,

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And he promised never to be grim:
"I'll remember my friends until the end."

After the deer
And the steer
Wandered away.
The duck,
Previously stuck
In the muck,
Said to the peacock,
Who couldn't strut.
Now out of his rut:
"Let's look up that old flame.
                            
I bet she remembers your name.
Where did she stay?"

To the swallow,
Who still couldn't follow,
The duck,
Previously stuck
In the muck,
Said: "Let's play a game.
You and I can protect each other from the rain.
In flight our paths 
Will almost be the same.
It will be as if we were given the same name."

So they went on their way
With the duck,
Previously stuck
In the muck,
And the swallow,
Who still couldn't follow,
Playing follow the leader;
But the swallow 
Never learned to follow
And would have taken a bath or a shower.
What he needed was a lighthouse tower
Guiding him through the night and day. 

10

The peacock, 
Still unable to strut,
But out of his rut
Made a route of their trip.
They had to stop at almost every feeder
Resting and taking a sip
Indulging in fruit while doing loops.

They managed to stay great friends until the end.   
No matter which way they turned or bend.
That swallow
Never learned to follow  
And flew 
                                   
As he knew
By the weather vanes
Telling cue 
Making their lives
Essentially thrive
And complete.
Life was always a treat.

They flew low
And slow.
As time passed by,
They were determined to maintain a friendship.
No matter which way the wind dipped.

Oh! How I wish we could fly.
In any direction or height,
Without the aid of as plane,
And with there being no protection from the rain.
Just imagine the sight
Of millions of people 
Sitting on every steeple.
Waiting for friends to arrive
Greeting everyone with a dive.
My friends and I
Constantly try 
And fly.

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That's what I call alive.
Perhaps, one day you and I
Can play in the sky
Having fun 
Chasing the sun.
Oh my!

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