Dauntless

“Put on the dauntless spirit of resolution”. ~ By William Shakespeare Meet this dweller of the icy continent Among the few, he is the chief occupant Out in that territory, it is freezing cold With nothing but a sea of whiteness to behold In this far stretching desert of ice Live the emperor penguins wise They are birds erect, not designed for flight Neatly dressed in suits of black and white They remind us of nuns dressed in white With hoods in black and souls contrite The penguins thrive in snow and sleet That to them is never an easy feat Over the ice they smoothly waddle And in water with flippers, they paddle Strangely, it is in the peak of winter they breed When nature goes scarce with food to feed After a period of intimate courtship Into responsible parenthood they slip The female lays a single egg Never one more, even if we beg Right away she goes on a feeding spree Appointing her husband as designee To guard over the egg and keep close watch Until the young one is ripe to hatch Do you know how it incubates the egg? He balances it on the feet of his leg Till the young one is out, he refuses to eat or drink A rare sacrifice of which we can hardly think In this period, he thrives solely on body fat And in course, he loses half his weight At last, from the egg, when the chick is out It is not allowed to go to the ice direct But is locked inside the parent’s brood pouch Where the little one feels comfy as on a couch If it ever dares to venture out It will freeze to death, no doubt The emperors thus live on the razor edge of life And their lives with challenges are rife Yet with dauntless resolution, they face their fate And against all adversities, their life they celebrate With their densely packed layers of plumage They keep their bodies from serious damage When comes the blasting breath of the blizzards As a precaution to skim over the hazards, From their territories, they rally en bloc together Huddling tight for warmth in the biting weather Don’t you think the penguin is an emperor Who subdues his hostile territory with prudent care? A longer version of the bird’s dauntless endeavor is our life An arduous climb through perils, pain and strife!