...Poetry Index
Percy the Peacock was pretty and proud
He shattered the air with a call
that was loud
As fifteen potato guns shot in the air
(I saw them do that at the Pringletown Fair).
Priscilla the Peahen was pouty and plain
People could rarely remember her name
When she tried to show off people only said “Shoo!”
As they rushed to see Percy at Pringletown Zoo.
Priscilla was plain, almosy ugly, I guess
Her feathers created a simplistic dress
Drab as dishwater and always a sight
People never took notice of daytime or night.
Percy would strut and show off all the day
Priscilla would cry for attention and say
“I strutted up this street, I strutted back down
But no one looked twice in this self-centered town!”
“It’s true. It’s so true. It’s as true as can be.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
“I’ll say it though I’m
just a secretary.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
Mary had feet that were as big as a moose,
Her neck was as long as a swan or a goose,
She gathered her food with her feet, which would scrunch
On the heads of the things Mary wanted for lunch.
Percy didn’t care that they noticed her not
Proudly, he strutted his stuff on his spot
Across from a house on a weed-covered lawn
Where spook-folks and demon-dudes danced until dawn
Inside of the house on the weed-covered lawn
Lived a cat that was big as a Mountain Elk fawn
The demon-dude dancers taught him to be mean
They named him Eventual Frankfurter Green
The spook-folks all said they would cook him some time
And boil his carcass and mix him with lime
And throw in some salt and throw in some hay
And feed him to children who passed by the way.
This upset Eventual Frankfurter Green
No wonder the pussycat really was mean
The spook-folks and demon-dude dancers were bad
(That they raised him like that made me really quite sad.)
Priscilla was just about having a fit
“This rudeness has gotten me into a snit!
Folks treat me like I’m really not worth a bit
And I want recognition, I want to just quit!”
“It’s true. It’s so true, It’s as true as can be.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
“You know that things like that should never so be.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
Priscilla decided to give it some thought
She sat down to think of the solace she sought
She fluffed out her feathers, she folded her legs
And sat herself down upon eight or nine eggs.
She thought and she pouted, she ranted and raved
As she sat upon all of the eggs she had laid
She twisted and turned (she was stuck in her ways)
And she did this for twenty eight miserable days
Priscilla dejectedly rubbed at her rump
And wished she had chosen to sit on some stumps
Instead of these eight or nine hard-as-rock lumps
When suddenly, she began hearing some thumps!
I could have been sitting on cactus or rocks!
I could have been sitting on keys or on locks!
I could have been sitting on sweet clover hay!
But I sat on some eggs and they’re hatching today!
“It’s true. It’s so true. It’s as true as can be!”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
“You can name ALL of them after little old me!”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
A proud little honking noise came from her throat
And Percy the Peacock, he even took note
And eight or nine tiny beaks began to tap
They pecked tiny holes ‘til the eggshells went ZAP!
Eight or nine tiny peachicks stepped into the light
Then hid under Priscilla with all of their might
When they heard E. F. Green on a branch in a hunch
Say “I’m going to name them Eventual Lunch.”
The spook-folks and demon-dudes were not very nice
About feeding E. F. Green on cat food and mice
In his food dish that day they put nothing at all
That was all that they’d fed him since sometime that fall.
The day finally came--he could stand it no more
E. F. Green’s thin stomach just let out a roar
“I have to eat something--I don’t care if its mean!”
Said Mr. Eventual Frankfurter Green
He quietly wandered out into the street
For kittys can sneak with their soft little feet
He rushed past some cars--nearly hit by a few
Then Eventual reached it--the Pringletown Zoo!
He sneakily sneaked past the ticket booth man
He avoided the keepers by jumping in cans
He crawled past a fountain at a very slow pace
Til he came to a sign that said “The Peacock Place”
From under the bushes he started to spring
When Larry the Lemur started to scream!
“Carnivore! Omnivore! Sharp-toothed intruder!”
E. F. Green thought Larry could not have been ruder.
All the birds flew for the cover of sticks
But Priscilla the Peahen was in quite a fix.
Eight or nine tiny peachicks surrounded her so
There was no way to fly! There was nowhere to go!
She let out the teentsiest, tiniest cluck
Eight or nine dove beneath her with crossed toes for luck
They had no time to hid twixt the thorns of the rose
So Priscilla and eight or nine babies just froze.
Percy the Peacock, let out a big cry
That sounded like sirens piercing the sky
He spread out his tail with a shimmering shake
With a flick of his butt his tail started to quake.
E. F. Green gave Percy a bit of attention
Then turned back to Priscilla (still there, I should mention).
E. F. Green grumbled and cursed some in Spanish
Priscilla and eight or nine peachicks had vanished!
He looked to the right and he looked to the left
He looked in the roses and rocks that were cleft
He looked at the ground and he looked at the sky
But he knew that those tiny peachicks couldn’t fly.
Larry the Lemur, he hadn’t stopped screaming
And Carrie, the keeper, arose from her dreaming.
All of the noise brought her straight to the place
And she scooped up E. F. Green--held him to her face.
“What a beautiful kitty!” she said with a smile.
“You
have to have wandered for many a mile.
Your bones are all sticking right out of your skin!
Thank goodness you came to the right place, my friend.”
Carrie the keeper got E. F. some food
And petted him (got him back in a good mood)
and promised to feed him each day at the zoo
(Which is better than spook-folks and demon-dudes do)!
Priscilla, eventually, finally, rose
And eight or nine babies uncrossed all their toes.
They were all fine, they were as fine as could be.
Priscilla said, “Why didn’t old E. F. see me?”
Oliver Owl simply gave out a hoot!
And flew down from his perch to a big gnarled root.
“Don’t
you see, silly? Nature made you that way
to protect your children in their younger day.”
“Percy can show off and grab the attention.
He’s big and to fight him is not worth a mention.
But you have a weapon they call camouflage
To put it into use you just have to pause.”
“And no one can see you or eight or nine others
Who instinctively know to keep close to their mothers.
You may be quite plain but the reason is clear
It saved eight or nine helpless pea-babies, my dear.”
“It’s true. It’s so true. It’s as true as can be.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
“You can’t stomp them senseless with your footsies like me.”
Said
Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
Priscilla was thrilled so she let out a squawk
That made the clouds quiver and startled a hawk
“I never again will be angry or mad
That I’m not as flashy as Percy, your dad.”
Eight or nine tiny peachicks then started to strut
And each spread out the tail on their feathery butt.
“We’re
proud of our Mom and were proud of our Dad.
To have you for parents makes us very glad!”
“And when we grow up,” said the pea-chicky-hens,
“We’ll never feel plain and complain to our friends.”
“And when we grow up,” said the pea-chicky-boys,
“We’ll brighten the world with our visual noise.”
“It’s true. It’s so true. It’s as true as can be.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
“It’s just what Ma Nature intends you to be.”
Said Mary Nanciliful Oppenhouse P.
All these events had made Percy so proud
That he shattered the air with a call that was loud
As fifteen potato guns shot in the air
(Like the ones that I saw at the Pringletown fair.)
Priscilla was satisfied being a mommy,
She called out to Penny, and Peter, and Tommy,
And Janet, and Johnnie, and Julie, and Kate,
And Susie, and Ruthie, and Billy, and WAIT!
“That isn’t eight and that isn’t nine!”
She made them all stand in a semi-straight line.
She counted them once and then counted again
She couldn’t believe it--she had counted TEN!
She looked over at Percy and started to laugh.
“I’ve never been much good at numbers or math
I may be a bird-brain at some things, you see
But I’m proud of my family and I’m proud of me!”
The End
Michael Beahm is a farmer who raises peacocks, deer, and other exotic animals. He also teach high school drama classes.
...Poetry Index
