ABNER YALU
An entry in the Crocodile Prize
Kina Securities Award for Poetry
My children have a bird,
a sulphur crested cockatoo,
with ruffled feathers, and impeccable impression,
he could well have been a movie star,
if weren't for his evil shriek!
Now Kaiyo is no ordinary bird,
The hunter claimed, he pinched it off its mama's tetees,
Whilst the little bugger was worm-feeding at 8 weeks,
who can question the hunter,
such brave and fearless banter,
though not so sure, if birds have breast,
Kaiyo no doubt is a carnivore!
We had a mumu the other week,
plenty pork and chicken meat,
Kaiyo refused all fruits and nuts,
even spat out kaukau and kumu too,
as if removing dirt from a fallen kaukau,
he carefully removed all trace of vegetables,
Chicken meat was his favorite pick.
My children were horrified,
of their carnivore pet,
Kiayo chuckled, as if he cherished his dark side,
,whilst devouring his meat in giant gulps.
At one point, he gagged and nearly choked.
All the children laughed aloud, Kaiyo grunted a profanity,
but quickly shrilled to cover up, for swearing was not allowed.
No don't take him for an evil bat, Kaiyo is none of that.
In fact he loves children, of course for their noisiness.
As if controlled by some hidden switch, he would crackle and shriek non-stop,
at the sight of pikininis playing. Often altering his speech,
Switching voices every now and then, and mine and the dogs were his specialty.
His terrifying shrieks always sends the poor dog scrambling.
Now Ambai Bun, our halfcaste mongrel, is no stranger to fright and fear,
She herself is a terror expert, brutal guard dog, so to speak.
Igam bred, military dad, this ferocious canine, is a deadly brat.
She sends visitors, and occasional wonderers, scrambling for the nearest tree,
Yet this doggie knows better, never to mess with the bird.
At the slightest sign of resistance, Kaiyo screams and lifts his wings,
a scary resemblance of the 'you know who', even our pigs and cats are terrified,
“this little bird has the evil wings” they’d quietly whisper to themselves..
But am sure they pray every night for Kaiyo to finally learn how to fly.