urban dog
09-02-2007, 01:23 AM
FEAR NOT!
You fear not your pollution, yet are nervous
About bats, whose contributions, whose great service
To Earth’s ecology and your economy —
Devouring crop pests (fruitful for agronomy),
Gobbling gobs of harmful bugs, dispersing seeds,
And pollinating plants — are worthy deeds!
Their wings, which flap and slap and beat the air,
Are thin, translucent, rubbery, and bare;
Their skin is black or dusky grayish brown.
Chiropterans don’t fly until sundown —
Except one specimen: the flying fox,
Who soars in daylight just as well as hawks.
Their faces look like that of foxes: eyes
Are large and muzzles long; when this bat flies
Against the sky at towering mountain height,
Resembling less a bird than canine kite,
You’ll hear its calls if you are somewhere near,
The tones so resonant they’ll ring your ear.
They’re visually orientative,
And locate juicy fruits on which they live
With their keen sense of smell. Yet other kinds
Of bats, which roost in trees or caves or mines,
Home in on, chase, and catch far more mosquitos
Than all the beans in all the world’s burritos!
After they wake from winter hibernation
They hunt for bugs by means of echolocation,
Which helps them “see” on nights as black as blindness.
To insects they show not a jot of kindness!
Some species prey on surface-swimming fish
And fly away with them for a toothsome dish;
Others feed on lizards, birds, or frogs,
Or even other bats (but never dogs);
And then there are the blood lappers. Oh gosh!
But do not worry — they’d much rather nosh
On other kinds of beasts like birds or cattle.
Are they from Transylvania? Fiddle-faddle!
When bats, at times, use lofts as hibernacula,
Do not be frightened as you would of Dracula;
Fear not these little furry wingèd mammals —
I’d be more fearful of the feet of camels!
Copyright © 2007 by Martin Elster.
All Rights Reserved.
You fear not your pollution, yet are nervous
About bats, whose contributions, whose great service
To Earth’s ecology and your economy —
Devouring crop pests (fruitful for agronomy),
Gobbling gobs of harmful bugs, dispersing seeds,
And pollinating plants — are worthy deeds!
Their wings, which flap and slap and beat the air,
Are thin, translucent, rubbery, and bare;
Their skin is black or dusky grayish brown.
Chiropterans don’t fly until sundown —
Except one specimen: the flying fox,
Who soars in daylight just as well as hawks.
Their faces look like that of foxes: eyes
Are large and muzzles long; when this bat flies
Against the sky at towering mountain height,
Resembling less a bird than canine kite,
You’ll hear its calls if you are somewhere near,
The tones so resonant they’ll ring your ear.
They’re visually orientative,
And locate juicy fruits on which they live
With their keen sense of smell. Yet other kinds
Of bats, which roost in trees or caves or mines,
Home in on, chase, and catch far more mosquitos
Than all the beans in all the world’s burritos!
After they wake from winter hibernation
They hunt for bugs by means of echolocation,
Which helps them “see” on nights as black as blindness.
To insects they show not a jot of kindness!
Some species prey on surface-swimming fish
And fly away with them for a toothsome dish;
Others feed on lizards, birds, or frogs,
Or even other bats (but never dogs);
And then there are the blood lappers. Oh gosh!
But do not worry — they’d much rather nosh
On other kinds of beasts like birds or cattle.
Are they from Transylvania? Fiddle-faddle!
When bats, at times, use lofts as hibernacula,
Do not be frightened as you would of Dracula;
Fear not these little furry wingèd mammals —
I’d be more fearful of the feet of camels!
Copyright © 2007 by Martin Elster.
All Rights Reserved.