30 July 2026

Hey Birdie

I should name you
after a Flamingo
and make fun
of your long legs.

Or compare you
to a certain Owl
in the Western Ghats
and praise
the symmetry
of your eye bags.

Perhaps
I should call you
a Nightingale
for your voice,
then remind you
that, on most days,
you are perfectly 
capable of being
a humble Crow.

How about Hornbill 
for your non-existant 
beak or Kiwi for overtly 
being an ass?

How about I call 
you a Peacock for
patriotic purposes,
and tell you how ugly 
the females are.
But you know, they
exchange gametes 
through their eyes?

In that case, eww!
don't look me 
in the eye.