Funny, true, pellucid – At Least the Duck Survived offers a series of lyrical observations about old age, retirement and approaching death; about Tai Chi classes, dogs, lesbian aunts, grandchildren, bicycles and symphony concerts. In its unassuming charm, perfect understatement, succinctness, attentiveness, generosity and wry humour, Margaret Clough's poetry proves Virginia Woolf's dictum that 'Every secret of a writer's soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in his works.'