NOT THE ANSWER WE WERE EXPECTING
Thirty geese in V formation fly
South over the gray, stalwart Hudson
Squawking manically as they go
Wonk! Wonk! Wonk!
Whenever I hear this sound
I think not of the majesty of
The natural world but the kid
Who on show-and-tell day
Brought to Ms. P’s second-grade
Class a handheld device
A kind of wooden kazoo
Meant to simulate the sound
Of various birds found in
America’s northeastern woodlands
With stubby fingers he
Brought the strange instrument
To his lips and through a series
Of modulated exhalations
Attempted to fabricate the
Ruffed grouse’s truncated trill
And the hoarse yap of
The ring-necked pheasant
What’s it for? we asked
You fool them, he explained, and
When they fly up to you, you
Shoot them with your twelve gauge
