carving ducks

all day he sits
on his stool carving ducks.
glasses on his nose.
ducks with
bills, ducks in the air,
ducks
wearing sweaters,
wearing red boots.
they're everywhere you look.
in restaurants
and stores,
in the windows of homes,
on boats.
all day, he turns a block
of soft wood
into a duck.
his hands working
the chisel, the awl,
the sanding,
the paint and varnish.
the ducks are his life,
his world.