If you stand on the beach on Holyhead
and listen attentively,
you may hear, above the sound of surf,
an unearthly harmony.
Upon a tiny rocky islet
out of sight of land
the world’s one and only seal voice choir
are sprawled on a patch of sand;
and sometimes, when the waves are still
and the breeze is off the sea
you can pick out a snatch of Cwm Rhondda
or perhaps Abide With Me.
Deep in the forests of Finland
where humans rarely go
are sometimes found unusual tracks
curving across the snow;
they’re rather like those of the stoat
but each is twelve inches by nine
And often nearby there’s a tuft of blue hair
caught in the bark of a pine.
If you spend a few years with the locals,
persuade them you’re discrete,
they may whisper of the iceweasels
that pad on hairy feet.
They say they live on baby elk;
cloaked by the night they creep,
and ever-so-softly snap the spines
of fawns while they’re asleep.
A buffalo can make
a quite delightful pet,
as long as you can find
an easy-going vet
who doesn’t mind an animal
that’s really very boring,
apart from the occasional
trampling and goring.
~~~
A buffalo will often make
a charming household pet,
but just in case, make sure you have
an easy-going vet
who doesn’t mind an animal
that’s really very boring
(apart from the occasional
trampling and goring).
Privately, the platypus feels
it’s only rotten luck
that people don’t refer instead
to the platypus-billed duck.
The usual way to spot giraffe
is by their penetrating laugh;
so those which are a bit dejected
frequently go undetected.
