my son came home from school one day
hey dad what are birds I heard him say
we had to learn about them in history class
i'll have to memorize all this stupid stuff if I want to pass
but I don't understand the relevance
of things that are dead and have no further presence
after all we're alive he said we made all the things
that crawl on the earth or fly with wings
I tried to explain to my son I tried
to explain what animals used to be but instead I just cried
what will the poets do when all the birds are extinct
when to the great chains of being we are no longer linked