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| Ducks Likely OK As Trump Admin Dumps Hydrogen Peroxide Into Green Reflecting Pool —HuffPost, June 19, 2026 Days after his administration claimed the pool was actually “crystal clear,” despite an unmistakably green hue, the US president acknowledged issues—and, without evidence, blamed foul play. —The Guardian, June 20, 2026 |
Who doesn’t agonize over color
for a kitchen, bathroom, house siding,
a fence, the front door? Or
even the color for a pool, to make
it bright, enticing, exciting.
So you try strolling down past doors
and walls in Ireland, Italy, Mexico,
or find yellows in Van Gogh’s flowers
his blues in Starry Night, perhaps examine
the deep and bright reds of Kahlo,
or even view the wide selection
of Monet’s greens. Some study flags,
like the yellow and blue of Ukraine,
the red, white, and blue of the UK,
or, for that matter, of proudly independent
America—the blue perfect to highlight
a very long pool, a tourist attraction
feting a famous president,
and perfect, too, to invite the beauty
of algae, that emerald green
celebrating warmth, humidity, and sun.
Yes—such is the power of summer energy,
it gifts green to water, and even peels
blue paint, encouraging new tourists,
ducks, to fly in for a visit hoping it is a snack
of duckweed, while men and women
in waders, scoop and scoop, day after day,
until the pool eventually becomes dry.
Until, in fact it will lie still in peace
in its comfortable century-old familiar
worn grey coat.
Anne Herrick has published a few poems and prose in the US and UK.
