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Kate, Visiting a Friend During Mating Season
on her Ostrich Ranch


My friend's oldest bird Ozzie
was pacing by the loquat tree

when he dropped to his knees
in the dust,

batting his thick eyelashes.
and waving his wings wildly,

weaving his head side to side,
rattling his feathers,

his eyes like most males',
bigger than his brain.

All swagger and feathers
he stutter stepped towards me.

I turned and ran to my car
his voom, voom voom voice

close behind.
In the rear view mirror

there he was: the old romantic
still chasing,

as if determined
to share a hot tub,

maybe allow me the honor
of raising his kids

one more reason I was single--
the male ego, too often

just a dirty old man
in a tutu

I admire quirky and this has tons of it as it well as great imagination. However, the premise does not corelate to any experience I've had or even heard of. I just cannot wrap my head around an ostrich in heat pursuing a human to mate with.

You're a bird guy and maybe you know something of the mating habits of the male ostrich.

there he was: the old romantic
still chasing,

as if determined
to share a hot tub,

maybe allow me the honor
of raising his kids


These lines give me the Willie's. I decided to just speak plainly as I believe you deserve that.

Hi Ken...Yeh, it's weird. I remembered an article I read many years ago on this subject, and that provided the impetus to the poem. Here's an article about this bizarre behavior: https://petkeen.com/are-ostriches-attracted-to-humans/

There are also other articles on the net.

I always appreciate honest feedback. That way I know what to work on.

Bob

OK

I like your poem, reminded me of a poem I wrote many years ago:


I Visited My Old Girlfriend
On Her Farm
She Loved Horses

She gave me a tour.
In the barn, in a corner
curled up like a big egg

was a cock that looked dead.
"Is he okay?"
She said he was depressed

since she'd bought another rooster
who now runs the harem.
"He's been like that for days,

won't eat. Sunrise, still not a peep
out of him." I could commiserate
with that old cock.

It was a pitiful sight.
I asked her if she was
still seeing “cowboy” Mark.

I love your poem, Billy. lOL...easy to identify with!

This made me smile, Bob as I saw something on TV recently about ostrich's mating and their elaborate foreplay. I really enjoyed the details and the humour.
Eira

Thank you, Eira. I'm so happy that you had fun with it.