Q: What is avian forensics?
A: Ornithology pathology.
Q: What's the name of Adam Levine's band when they appear in concert?
A: Maroon Five Live.
Q: What is a submarine that only goes forward?
A: An irreversible submersible.
Q: What was a really fanatical peasant in ancient Greece?
A: A zealot helot.
Q: What kind of small pet dog gets carried around in a designer handbag?
A: A Gucci poochie.
Q: What would you call a consumer review of one of Benjamin Franklin's inventions?
A: A colonial testimonial.
Q: What's another name for a woman's "muffin tops"?
A: A girdle hurdle.
Q: If characters are an author's progeny, what does that make "Dorian Gray"?
A: A Wilde child.
Q: What rules of conduct were Senators in ancient Rome supposed to follow?
A: Forum decorum.
Should you like to view the shrike
or have a butcher's take a hike
to where they nest while at rest
but better yet sneak a peek
at the dancing yet docile
and stupid blue-footed booby
as it will make you smile
for they have no need to choose
a pair of blue suede shoes
and how to catch them
there's no secret you would keep
it's best when they're sound asleep
yes can you guess
if you dare when they nap
to snare one two or a few
use a blue-footed booby trap
Birds are in conflict with man's technology
It's an epic collision for ornithology
To these noble creatures we owe an apology
We hear bird language, we hear their song
Marveling at the music, we mimic along
Birds on earth are four hundred billion strong
A Bluejay's body smashed into asphalt
Pigeons begging on streets, humbling assault
Starlings trapped in stadiums await release
Jet engines regularly suck in our Geese
Falcons make nests up on skyscrapers
Atop utility poles Ospreys become nest makers
A Goldfinch quite naturally flies
Crashes my window and sadly dies
Shotgun pellets fly wildly at Quail
Our bond with nature could likely fail
For sixty million years birds show integrity
Now we witness avian declining prosperity
Humans need to think and do what's right
Find the balance so birds stay in flight
MY THANKS IN KIND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In monorhyme
I'll give you some time.
Your prefered choice of poetry, no crime.
Of the birds on Thor pond, that's so divine!
Ornithology is indeed a hobby of mine,
photography too, simply sublime..
However a trip to India I'll have to decline,
A virtual reality visit would be perfectly fine.
Reading your monorhymes' has helped me refine
My writting in general and this poem is my thanks in kind.
The Great Blue Heron always does its best
While hatching, fledging, high atop its nest;
With Nature’s rhythms every day is blessed,
As surely as the Sun sets in the West.
The heron pair take turns to go on quest,
Come back to tend the young, by life possessed;
When one departs, the other stays at rest,
With awesome grace.— At camera’s behest,
I watch and wonder, uninvited guest.
Men seek conceits, awards, to be conferred,
Then strut and fret with pridefulness absurd;
Some dote upon a poet’s every word…
But I’d prefer to be more like that bird.
~ Harley White
[Poem inspired by viewing the Great Blue Heron nest on live camera at Cornell Lab of Ornithology]
A shriek in the night was suddenly heard,
my daughter upstairs,'a bird,a bird',
my son runs to help and shouts 'magpie',
I yell 'open the window,so out it can fly'.
A magpie you say,I doubt it is so,
I'll take a look,ornithology I know.
It's not a magpie, you silly thing,
it's nothing but a common starling.
They've made a nest up in my loft,
they've used my old clothes,nice and soft.
i've patched up the hole,even had a new roof,
even so,it's not starling proof.
The poor bird's panting,scared to death,
barely able to catch its breath.
The window's open,good and wide
as I shoo the bird, out it does glide.
The panic is over,the bird is OK
but it will happen again another day.
I give up,I just can't win,
so I welcome the starlings and
let them come in.
The stadium waits, the crowd assemble
The band prepares the "Hillsborough" welcome
The air thick with anticipation
The fans intent on celebration
A strip of blue, a dash of white
Unmistakedly a "Wednesdayite"
The cherished owl displayed with pride
Symbolic of their much-loved side
Their empathy with ornithology
of "Wednesday's" infamous football chronology
Rousing to that haunting cry
"I know I'm "Wednesday" 'till I die"
A sentiment they won't refute
For them there is no substitute!
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.