Sheathbill

Dirty beaked Sheathbill

treads between Penguins

a clucking fowl

fussily looking for shit.

 

Pure white, though often rather stained,

nobody sees her standing in the snow

two black legs below an absence.

No one has a better

scatological imagination

seeking among sea bird tenements

their dregs of nourishment

undigested turds.

Hop in quick and you've got it !

 

The Sheathbill makes the best

of a bad situation.

Quite a survivor

when you come to think of it.