Birds Do More Than Fly
By John Herlihy

Birds do more than fluff their feathers and fly,
Soaring freely in flocks thru the mid-day sky.

Birds do more than sing from the heart.
Our feathered friends play another part,
In extending blessing from Nature’s hand,
In warning their distant relatives, we humans,
Of hopes and dangers looming over us fast,
A hidden message adrift like a ship without a mast.

The very sight of birds flying happily in a forlorn sky
Brings hope to men on a lost ship getting ready to die.
They hopelessly scan the horizon for signs of life,
When behold, a bird’s tweet cuts their despair like a knife.
Where birds fly freely, land cannot be far behind,
The story of life’s renewal once again formally signed.

I knew of a time when a flock of birds saved the day;
An infant child was playing under a tree in the hay.
Giggling and gabbing to herself as if she had a word to say,
Unbeknownst of a deadly snake about to interrupt her play.
The birds screamed wildly at the snake nearing in full stealth;
The snake slithered away, leaving the baby in full health.

My friend and his family live in a frontier province;
Nighttime dangers have lurked there as a constant menace.
Their house is a fortress, the garden heavily walled.
The fear of thieves and murderers lies firmly installed.
Sentinel birds protect the family with their night vigil
To warn them of any wayward activity considered uncivil.

Birds do more than fluff their feathers and fly,
They have answers to who, when, where, why.