Tonight
The world is a shoebill
And I am its second born.
I called to the monkey who wore a pinstriped suit,
Found out the giraffe and hippo are mute.
Saw a man stare at a lemur 'til dark,
Like he was waiting for some kind of spark.
The leaves fell from trees, an impressive display,
So I waved my arms like I made it that way.
A woman made comment to me, "Don’t be silly,"
As a flamingo tapped by, all dressed up and frilly.
Sun-bear, lions, and kangaroo too,
A gorilla looked like he had nothing to do.
Sunning themselves, no care in the world,
While a shoebill gave my head quite the whirl.
A man with some popcorn meant for a snack,
Tossed some to pigeons—who launched an attack!
He zigzagged away, arms flailing in dread,
Yelling, “They pooped on my head!” as he fled.
A grandma danced by the penguin parade,
Imitating the shuffle those little ones made.
They watched for a moment, then gave her a glance,
And waddled behind her to join in the dance.
I stretched with a yawn, gave one last glance,
At flamingos mid-strut and a penguin dance.
With a heart full of wonder and shoes full of dirt,
I left the zoo grinning, my cheeks kinda hurt
My bill you can't forget
My feet always wet
Hodge-podge of many likes
Walker of many sikes
My stork or cassowary-like body
My wide wings flapping steady
Legs trekking from Sudan to Zambia
My feet spanning like a tortilla
I can play hide and seek
I'm soft-spoken and meek
Chasing my prey with my bill digger
Coughing like a jack hammer
Three decades I can survive
Sounds I can create to jive
Please be careful with my heart
Yours I don't want to break apart
I only look like a shoe
Bigger than a shrew...
A bird!
I was standing next to an African swamp the other day
When the wing span of a dynamo spread a shadow my way
It covered my body length, and I was lying down flat.
I said to my husband “What do you think of that?”
“It’s a shoebill stork,” he informed me with a hush.
Don’t excite him, because he will come out of the brush.
The shoebill was at least five foot tall, standing on his feet.
Which intimidated me, as I know shoe bills love to eat.
What do they consume? I asked my husband, worried.
He whispered “lungfish,” and his voice sounded hurried.
The blue gray shoebill began to stare me down right away.
I thought we were both goners on that horrible day!
Mr. G will see you now, the receptionist said.
I walked in to see a giant shoebill. He was enormous.
He looked down his beak at me, stared me down.
I could feel my throat gulp a wad of salty gooey stuff.
What did you need? He asked. I was terrified.
I claimed to be in the wrong office, leaving swiftly.
Scary isn’t he? The receptionist asked me.
I was too frightened to nod. Last time I ask to see the mayor.
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