The phoebe and the cardinal yell
at each other, this time every year.
To them it's very plain to tell
each wants the other far from here.
The cardinal has the better claim:
of humans he has much less fear.
The phoebe stomps and shouts his name;
in his mind that makes his case clear.
The cardinal likes the privet hedge
whose berries he alone can eat.
The phoebe wants a wider edge
between his hunting field and street.
If this goes on they'll come to blows
and the cardinal has his strangling move,
which every little male bird knows
his case will absolutely prove.
More likely, phoebe's weary wife
will settle closer to the road,
and phoebe will give up the strife
and grudgingly take up his load.
Meanwhile when some city folk
see tiny feathers, hear shrill tweet,
they'll say without a hint of joke,
"The birds! So happy, cute, and sweet..."
I like most birdsong EXCEPT that of the robin, which is a repetitive nerve wracking non-melodious sound!
ReplyDeleteHmm. I've heard robins really sing but wonder if yours is doing something else? They have alarm and warning "calls" as well as "songs"...
DeleteWe have neither the phoebe nor the cardinal in the UK, but I like the way you describe them in this poem, Priscilla, so much that I will look them up. I’d like to hear what they sound like.
ReplyDeleteI think Cornell's AllAboutBirds site plays recordings. The phoebe is so called because he keeps yelling "PHOE-be! PHOE-be!" Each male cardinal in a neighborhood seems to choose one of a set of songs they can do; one that lived here said "Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!", and then one said "Quite, quite, quite," and this year we have one that says "Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!" in a slightly different way than his (grandfather?) did. (I used to live near one who said "Birdie, birdie, birdie," just as if someone had spent time teaching him--but that's another thing some cardinals say.)
DeleteI've seen some cut-throat action from the local birds from time to time. It's like they're feathered wrestlers. Even cute looking nature has its fierce side.
ReplyDeleteYes. They don't seem to know they're cute.
DeleteWe have some colourful birds in Australia, but not the cardinal. I was thrilled to catch a glimpse of one once, on a visit to Texas long ago. I had to Google phoebes; had not heard of them at all. Yes,'nature red in tooth and claw' is worth remembering.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've heard of showy cockatoos being pests in Australia...(are they still?)
DeleteNicely written, Priscilla, you worked hard on this piece.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me want to find my childhood bird cards to catch up with a few. I don't remember the phoebe and we don't have them here in Texas and not in Nebraska as far as I remember. So I'm not sure who would win in a struggle, the phoebe or the cardinal. I think it is good that the phoebe's wife may help, his feelings if not his struggle.
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Yes...every year for the last 14 years, he yells at the cardinal for a few days, then moves closer to the road, finds nobody to yell back at him, and seems to calm down!
DeleteThis is very well done. I appreciate the rhyme and the humorous ending.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenna!
ReplyDelete