Ode to ol' Scraggleneck

hodgepodge of free verse, rhyme and clumsy whimsy

Soda straw neck completely naked… Not a hint of feathers…
A few on her wings showing signs of better days
But still a perky attitude, among her young healthy brothers
She was kinda regal, in scraggly kinda ways

She had to hunker down a little further 
than her young companions
To launch her skinny body into the air,
as if, like me, she felt a bit of the rheumatism
In the bird legs that I think we both shared

Had a certain panache in her syncopated strut
Guess she didn’t even know that she was really old
She earned my admiration, even with that silly syncopation
…She still carried herself with a dignified air so bold…

a certain proud aplomb (if a pidgeon can possess demeanor)
I kinda’ related to her and formed an unconscious bond.
Always looking for her amongst all the jostling others.
And feelin’ deep anxiety… whenever she was gone
 
Her landings weren’t quite the feats of grace of the others
But she retained her composure when she stumbled, all the same
It was several  years back since she first showed up with her brothers
That plucky lil’ pidgy sure was game

She first caught my eye with that scraggly neck and peckish attitude.
there was something in her stately manner 
 that captivated me more every day.
She slowly became an integral part of my daily life
Oft, when I was weak and feelin’ bleak
 “ol’ Scraggleneck” would show me the way
 
There must have been an agreement between her and my lazy-a*s cat
Cause he never seemed to want to eat her, even when he could
He just watched, with a baleful look …seemed content with that.
She dropped in each day in her clumsy sort of way
And gobbled up her share of my lazy-a*s cat’s food

“Ol’ Scraggleneck” has shown me
In her dogged, determined way
It’s not how you’ll spend eternity
…But how you live each day…

Author's Note

I know it's clumsy, so don't get your feathers all ruffled.

Reviews

[Jack...]

Having kept a flightless pidgeon as a pet when I was very young, I can relate to this poem. Thank you for bringing back those memories. My pidgeon was named Clarence until she managed to lay an egg after a few years and at that point the named changed to Clarisse

[Marie]

No it's not clumsy. The first tribute I ever read to a pidgeon, but there's nothing wrong with that.