Kokako why did you leave?

Kokako - Image by Manu Bird from Pixabay


Kokako why did you leave?

Kokako! Why did you leave? 
slipping away without a sound
monogamy did you no good
nor your song of defense
they came anyway

People
with their ship rats, stoats, weasels, feral cats 
hunting was easy
too friendly, unwary 
feeding on the forest floor
nests invaded, eggs taken

Male and female inseparable
singing of love
until
 sold to the highest bidder - collectors, museums -
saving you from yourself

It makes me shudder
that money speaks
to take those with a unique voice
a 2008 extinction
Kokako declared null and void 

So ecologically naive, they said
I ask, you or them?
but now
labelled as data deficient
one sighting has brought you back
one, two, three
stay free beautiful manu
this world is not for you!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Old Fashioned Rambling Rose

Image
Traditional Rambling Rose by Bronwyn Hegarty 2020   She loved this rambling rose it symbolised her kind of order Smuggled in her bag from Wales smiling innocence at the border. No sniffer dogs back then. Now it grows in my garden deep pink double petals open to the sun Spreading a wondrous scent tickling memories of our Mum. She will love it when she sees the photo. No, she won’t remember the wildness how she cultivated a garden from here and there Propagating her own nature reserve of sorts cutting, replanting, sharing the fare. Insisting I fly home with plants in bags of dirt. The colourful chaos grew too big in the end and we helped her move to a manageable space We took what she gave, keeping it light not liking to see the change in her face. Old fashioned rambling rose, shared, love remembered. Bronwyn Hegarty, February 2020
Read more

If I could sing

Image
Korimako or Bellbird by Sid Mosdell If I could sing If I could sing, my voice would float high in the sky, a melody of  te aroha, a crescendo, a dawn chorus, the throaty bell sounds of a Korimako. I am retiring. Halleluiah!
Read more