I came upon a mother Killdeer
Pretending she was wounded.
With absolutely nothing to fear,
Her worries were unfounded
She was peeping like a maniac,
And fluttering all about,
With a ruckus like a cardiac
Victim’s heart that’s giving out.
I know that she was simply trying
To protect her little nest.
The problem that seems underlying
Was, her choice wasn’t the best.
She chose to pick a nice location
By a tree among the rocks.
Her decision brought aggravation
Where a golfer often walks.
Since she put it in a busy place
Where traffic was sure to be.
It was inches from the parking space,
Of a golf course’s first tee.
Author Notes:
A Killdeer is a brown and white bird on tall thin legs that nests on the ground. It is distinguished by 3 black stripes across its chest and forehead. I discovered this particular one the other night while golfing. As I pulled my cart up to the first tee box, it started peeping loudly, in a very high-pitched, annoying screech. It flew around wildly, then landed nearby, and stuck out its wing. It was hopping about like it was wounded. That is its method to distract predators away from its nest by projecting the image of an easy meal.
This poem is a set of abab rhymed quatrains with a pulsating meter of 9-7-9-7.
The picture was taken by the author himself.
