I passed a local pond nearby
A cold and wintry day
Some twenty geese were swimming there
The ones who chose to stay
And then my eye caught site of them
A truly lively bunch
A magpie and a raven too
An eagle having lunch
The eagle had a fish it seems
He’d caught it for himself
His table set along the shore
Upon an icy shelf
The others had dropped by to say
That sharing seemed quite fair
The eagle mantled o’er its prey
As tension filled the air
The raven watched and paced a lot
But time would make his day
When eagles eat, they make a mess
Some scraps would come his way
The magpie had quite other thoughts
He simply could not wait
He wanted so to steal that fish
He truly did tempt fate
He flapped his wings and jumped around
He was a frightful sight
And taunt and squawk and carry on
He tried to pick a fight
The eagle did ignore this pest
As though no one was there
The fish was his, he’d finish it
There was no need to share
The magpie then outdid himself
Now at a fever pitch
And only once did he break stride
To scratch a tiny itch
The raven waited patiently
With one thought on his mind
The eagle might succumb to this
And leave the fish behind
The eagle finished off his meal
And wiped his talons clean
He turned to faced the crazed magpie
He really did look mean
The magpie just ignored the stare
He had to have those scraps
The eagle spread his wings for flight
And launched with mighty flaps
Then eagle’s wing and old magpie
Collided in this game
A feathered ball of screech and squawk
Our magpie now became
The magpie did regain himself
Though murky was his mind
The raven grabbed the fish remains
And left the site behind
I’ve wondered then and still do now
Since people act the same
Did we show them or they show us
Just how to play this game
© Dr. Jon C. Fulfs – October 1993