Who Sings Lullabies for Cowbirds? by Duncan Shaw-Rose
- Jan 16, 2025
- 1 min read
Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae.
Your name betrays your nature
Your size betrays your nature
Your voice betrays your nature
Your coat betrays your nature
They are of New World origin, but some species not native to North America are invasive there,
Hear that whisper in the woods-
Do you think they know?
Do leaden eyes trace your flight
Everywhere you go?
and are obligate brood parasites,
You don’t wet your tongue with the eyes of your mother
You don’t hone your beak on the feet of your father
You don’t wash your wings with the blood of your brother
You don’t. You don’t.
laying their eggs in the nests of other species.
Who is to blame?
There must be a blame.
Who is to blame?
Who is to blame?
1) Wikipedia. “Cowbird.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowbird.