Ode to Avian Life

Here's another poetry group assignment, this one focused on birds, a category that has been sadly neglected by me. Until now. So I did some research, found out about the origins of birds, and got caught up in the interesting history of this fellow creature. Can you believe? They are descended from dinosaurs! (Maybe I'm the only one who didn't know that...) 


Ode to Avian Life


To those of us fettered on the ground by gravity,

the sight of you flying creatures soaring past

in the clear air, high above us, floating free

can seem like a miracle.


It does not even occur to us to spread our arms

and try to copy you, running fast, pulling free of the earth.

Our bodies are not made for the air.

We are terrestrial animals and have made our peace with it.


Yet once, millions of years ago, your pre-avian ancestors

were also earthbound. These small dinosaurs walked along the ground

in a vastly different world. And then a few feathers developed.

At first these might have been only an alluring decoration.


But gradually, as evolution would have it,

your arms stretched out like wings, feathering beautifully.

Your bones became light and hollow,

your legs raced over the terrain, until…., lift off!


What an achievement! Your species began to flourish.

Your brains became larger, your senses keen.

You quickly filled every conceivable ecological niche

and now we see you everywhere, reminding us of lightness,

of far-perspective, of the remarkable varieties of nature.

Looking up from our earthly home, we honor you, the birds. 


NF 1/4/22

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