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The Last Song

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Kaua'i 'o'o (Moho braccatus), extinct 1987

Within a circle of emerald peaks
Where memories stretch a million miles long
Whistled through bright black plumes and golden streaks
Wherever life exists, it sings a song

Blessed Kaua'i, where the 'o'o reside
Lonesome haven for that endemic race
A frail and fertile ground for doom to ride
Pestilence brought forth extinction's embrace

Those wooden whales passed on a host of beasts
Cats and dogs and gnats with ravenous eyes
The helpless 'o'o now their scrumptious feast
All but one bird met untimely demise 

His broken duet wailed then through the shores
Then it fades, and the 'o'o sang no more

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Eileen Manassian

Date: 7/18/2025 9:30:00 AM

This is so so sad. Your poem gives their memory rebirth from extinction. I once saw a cartoon about birds that went extinct. We cried a children. This poem also tugs at my heart.

Vanya Evangeline
Date: 7/19/2025 6:14:00 AM

Thank you, Eileen. There's a short cartoon on YouTube specifically about this bird's extinction, which is also extremely sad. We can't bring them back, but the least we can do is to honour their memory and try to do better for our surroundings.

Andrea Dietrich

Date: 7/10/2025 10:11:00 AM

I agree with David. Such elegance in this poem. I do not know about this topic, but it is sad. So many precious animals becoming extinct.

Vanya Evangeline
Date: 7/10/2025 9:41:00 PM

Thank you, Andrea. I think it is a weighty theme that too few know about, and I hope this poem grants it the voice and dignity it deserves.

David Crandall

Date: 6/30/2025 4:58:00 PM

That is elegantly worded and so sad! and almost infuriating (danged wooden whales) - I just read that the entire family to which the genus the 'o'o belonged is now extinct.

Vanya Evangeline
Date: 6/30/2025 6:35:00 PM

Yes, it's so unfortunate. The Kaua'i 'o'o was the last of the genus to be extinct. The recording of that last male's song is heartbreaking.

Janice Canerdy

Date: 6/27/2025 6:33:00 AM

Vanya, your lovely, moving sonnet vividly describes how things of beauty become extinct. Janice

Vanya Evangeline
Date: 6/27/2025 5:27:00 PM

Thank you, Janice. It's inspired by the recording of that last bird's song - a mating call that never got answered because there's no more female to do so. It's truly sad.