What bird would I be?

If I could be a bird

What bird would I be?

Would I nest upon a cliff

Or at the top of the highest tree?

I could choose to be an eagle and soar the thermals high.

Zeroing in on my prey with that classic eagle eye.

Armed with power and talon I sit majestic on coats of arms.

But it’s all a bit power and glory for me with lack of worldly charms.

I could choose to be a swan personifying beauty and grace.

I would have to be a black swan to signify my birth place.

I could float upon a lake to enhance the beautiful scene

With beak of red and feathers black which I would meticulously clean.

But it’s all a bit too showy, a bit too pretty for me

There needs to be a bit more grit if it’s the bird I choose to be.

There would have to be a daring, a bird I’d call brave.

Who would not back away from danger with family or territory to save.

There would have to be a beauty, either in form or in song,

And it would have to be on the right side when it came to right and wrong.

There would need to be an aesthetic as ugly is not good.

So form and colour rank important, as they always should.

I’d like to hop about people’s back yards picking bugs from their lawn

And be admired as an Aussie icon, but not always an emblem to be worn.

I would like to warble in the mornings as the sun rises in the sky

And look enquiringly, handsome, and fearless, proud to be a Magpie.

Craig (2005)