After "Swan Attacked by a Dog"

In times fat and lean, in flesh or in bone
the bulrushes bring this truth by-and-by:
some days you’re the cur, some days you’re the swan.

We think to ourselves that we drink alone
and the silence serves to confirm this lie.
In times fat and lean, in flesh or in bone—

whichever creature we once were is gone.
In hunger we pounce, startled we fly;
some days you’re the cur, some days you’re the swan.

Our defenseless necks outstretched in the sun,
we tempt the bared teeth, that snarl in reply.
In times fat and lean, in flesh or in bone

down by the river, what’s done is done.
Taking, losing, we lament with a sigh,
some days you’re the cur, some days you’re the swan.

And so you feast, or you’re feasted upon—
we posture, we pose, but cannot deny
in times fat and lean, in flesh or in bone,
some days you’re the cur, some days you’re the swan.