Bird Scaring Poem by John Agandin

They come in droves and drones
Winging wildly overhead at great speed
Making straight for the millet crop
Standing all white in the fields:
The promise of a bumper harvest!
Men, women, and kids rise up in arms
To defend their labour and sweat
Against these marauding birds;
These little ravenous beasts,
That come whirling and twirling
Nibbling, gnawing, hacking!
Destroyers and usurpers, the lot of them!
They suck, slurp, and scatter
And bring to naught months of sweat.
For this, we howl and yell and scream
And curse them all morning
Till we are hoarse and hissy.


We all rise before the sun
And divide the fields between us
Every mother and every father
That has toiled in the burning sun
Through planting and weeding
Now stand guard and ready
Keeping a sharp eye on the fields
Every kid in every compound
Is armed with a can and a stick
And with our shrill voices;
We must howl and bark and bang
To stay them and all their kind
And spare the ripening millet
From their toothless beaked jaws
Till at last, the harvest comes.


Over the fields, the banners fly
Through the nets, the wind whistles
Overall, the scarecrows stand and sway
Waving their open arms at all.
But though they scare the crows,
They frighten you not, little birdies
In their open arms, you nestle
And mock our wearisome efforts
Pitiless, merciless the lot of you!
We have barked, we have harped
We have clapped, we have flapped
We have jumped, we have leaped
We have chanted, we have sang
And we have pounded the cans sore
But still, you have persisted in coming
Will you not relent, will you not tire?
Little vicious devils, do answer me!