I was an ugly duckling swimming in the pond.

I looked longingly at the cuter ones of whom the boys were fond.

I always wondered why they never looked my way

It's something that I wondered up till that day.


I was an ugly duckling surrounded by ducks

Bright and lovely feathers gleaming in the sun.

Oh how my wonder had only just begun

They all seemed so smart, perhaps it was their pride -

They didn't let an ugly duck see what they hid inside,


I was an ugly duckling hiding in the reeds

I didn't care if I was never seen.

The cold winter came but somehow I survived

Keeping warm till Easter till the other ducks came back to abide.


I was an ugly duckling, or so I thought

Nothing beautiful about me, it's not something that can be bought.

I swam out the flock and wandered away

Till underneath a cherry tree I went to play.

There, when I was playing I saw, to my surprise,

A bright silver swan with deep blue eyes.


I was an ugly duckling up until that day

Then came the swan and we flew away.

That's when I noticed that perhaps I was wrong

Among those bright, glossy ducks wasn't where I belonged.

They weren't so pretty, their feathers were all fake

So I flew with my swan trying not to shake.


We flew over water, we flew over sea

Till then I wondered why'd he chose me?

One day I asked him and he laughed aloud

'You're no ugly duckling but the prettiest swan to be found.'

Poetry and Prose Archives

Dr Anthea

10.03.05 Front Page

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