Lame duck means a weakened, ineffective, or powerless person, organisation, policy, or leader, often one whose authority is fading. In poetry, the idiom can be used in satire, political verse, workplace poems, or character portraits of decline. The image of impaired movement suggests vulnerability and diminished agency. It may provoke pity, ridicule, or criticism depending on context. A poet can use it to explore the sadness of lost power, the cruelty of public judgement, or the comedy of failed authority.

A lame duck is someone or something weakened, ineffective, or lacking power, especially an office-holder near the end of authority. The phrase began with financial and political uses and retains a sense of incapacity. In poetry, it can be comic, pathetic, or satirical. The duck image softens and ridicules weakness, making it useful for political verse, workplace poems, or portraits of failing leadership.