Birdie Blues Poem by Ally Barnett

I’ve been around for quite some time yeah seen a thing or two

Rubbed noses with this Dingo pup and hugged a Kangaroo

I’m quite a wildlife lover; to you I tell no lies

But something really bugs me is our black and white magpies

From the time when I was little, while on my trek to school

This cheeky black and white bird would make me look a fool

Now you may think it’s just a bird and think well what the heck

But avoiding him is pretty hard when he swoops down to peck!

Mum would call “Go ‘Round The Back” whence she heard my cries

He just watched me in defiance with those beady orange eyes

With seven other siblings, I’ve had a scrap or two

But nothing poses close to what this bird has put me through!

He would hide up in that gum tree, and wouldn’t make a sound

‘Till he saw me sneaking out there then he’d peck me to the ground! !

Now time has passed and I have grown, and children I have had

And that pesky little magpie doesn’t really seem so bad

I look forward now to mornings & that lovely warble song

And wonder how that bird and me just didn’t get along

I even back the magpies… my local footy side

And walk out to the clothes line, no need to have to hide

Then one day it happened, as my daughter got the mail

I peeked out of the window when I heard her mighty wail

Swooping on her head was this bird of white and black

Then suddenly I’m calling “Well Go Around The Back”

Yeah history sure repeats itself, whether man or bird

And trying to avoid it is really quite absurd

Still today I rise & happily listen to their song

But when I check the mail I take my husbands bloody thong!