On Pindeldyboz, “Their Country House” by Dennis De Claudio:
The force of her wings, as she flaps down from the fence, pushes over a nearly empty cup of beer. I’ve never seen a duck this close. In the city, we have pigeons. And I would never let a pigeon eat a piece of cheese from my hand. “Don’t be afraid,” Jenny says. “She won’t hurt you.” I jerk my hand back anyway. Jenny and Tara laugh. The larger of the two, the male, I assume, is watching territorially from his perch on the gate. He’s bobbing his head violently in my direction. I drop the cheese onto the ground and get up for another beer. The female watches me walk into the house. The two ducks belong to the neighbors. They’re kept in a pen at night for protection. There were six ducks when Geoff and Jenny moved into this house. The other four were found in the neighbors’ yard with their heads gone, but their bodies fully intact.