The Bird

You may talk about the eagle as the only bird of fame

You may hold it up to notice and enlarge upon its name;

You may drape the flag around it, that the heart of man be stirred,

But this morning let me tell you, Thomas Turkey is the bird!

With the ladies ‘tis the ostrich for the lovely plumes he sheds;

How they gayly pace the pavements with them waving o’er their heads!

And, indeed, they make a bulls-eye, but today, upon my word,

The old ostrich isn’t in it – Thomas Turkey is the bird!

With the earnest aviator ‘tis the bird of cloth and steel,

With the whirring motors near him, and a wild, exultant “feel”;

But the only bird existing which has e’en my pulses stirred

Is the airship of the barnyard, Mr. Thomas Turkey bird.

Nov. 22, 1910