Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash
By Bill Stokes
Kickass, the doorstop dog, assists the keeper with the following:
Don’t know if you’ve heard
That being a bird
Can go lots of ways
With honors and days.
Some are here for the eggs they lay
Others to make Col. Sander’s day.
One bird is the country’s mascot
Some are “game” and thus are shot.
Some birds go south to avoid the snow
Others, like humans, are too dumb to go.
Humans envy how birds can fly
Then melt like Icarus if they try.
One bird has its own holiday
When humans feast, give thanks and pray.
But there is this, and it’s no fable
The bird of honor despises that table.
It’s the dressing for dinner he hates
Spooned inside him, then on their plates.
How is a bird to enjoy Thanksgiving
Stuffed and carved and no longer living?
The turkey does it year after year,
And is toasted with wine, or maybe beer.
Here’s to you, oh great bird of the day:
You’re beautiful, and as dumb as they say.
