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Home Poetry Humor

‘Bird of Prey’ by Raymond Gallucci

July 5, 2021
in Humor, Poetry
A A
9
poems 'Bird of Prey' by Raymond Gallucci

.

In present, past and future,
My parrot’s quite a moocher.
She’ll eat whatever suits her
__No matter whose it is.

If what you’re eating tempts her,
There’s nothing that preempts her
From thinking that it’s meant for
__Her own aperitif.

Or if her fellow parrot
Is munching on a carrot,
She has no qualm to ferret
__Away into her dish.

My parrot’s quite the cutie—
Considers it her duty
To confiscate as booty
__Whatever is her wish.

.

.

Raymond Gallucci is a retired Professional Engineer who has been writing poetry since 1990.

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Comments 9

  1. Paul Freeman says:
    5 years ago

    This poem’s very funny,
    it made the world feel sunny
    and was as sweet as honey –
    I loved the title, too.

    Reply
    • Gail says:
      5 years ago

      Likewise.

      Reply
  2. Susan Jarvis Bryant says:
    5 years ago

    Mr. Gallucci, this fine and funny poem is a masterclass in literary hilarity. Top-notch rhyming skills add to the amusing subject matter to give a much needed dose of medicinal laughter during troubled times, and I thank you wholeheartedly for the giggle! Great fun!

    Reply
    • Susan Jarvis Bryant says:
      5 years ago

      … also, I adore the picture. Thank you, Evan!

      Reply
  3. BRIAN YAPKO says:
    5 years ago

    This fun poem is a real charmer!

    Reply
  4. Raymond Gallucci says:
    5 years ago

    Thanks to all who enjoyed it.

    Reply
  5. David Watt says:
    5 years ago

    Your poem is highly entertaining and the rhyme scheme ties the stanzas neatly together.

    Reply
  6. BDW says:
    5 years ago

    as per Ira “Dweeb” Scule:

    Mr. Gallucci’s feminine rhymes are excellent, but I most like the rhyme pair “it is/aperitif”.

    Hey, do you have a poem on science, science fiction, skepticism, cynicism, or history you could include here?

    Reply
  7. Ray Gallucci says:
    5 years ago

    Those are many of my main themes in poetry. A pair of fairly recent science/sci-fi publications are below. If you’re really interested, I published all my poems up through 2000 in “No Rhyme? No Reason!,” available in paperback from Amazon.

    COLERIDGE – WELL(S) MET
    (First stanza reproduced from Coleridge’s classic poem “Kubla Khan.” Remainder based on Wells’ classic novel “The Time Machine.”)

    “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
    A stately pleasure-dome decree:
    Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
    Through caverns measureless to man
    Down to a sunless sea.”

    And in this Subterrania
    Lived Morlocks with a mania
    For breeding Eloi innocent
    As source of Morlock nourishment.

    But then The Traveler through Time
    Arrived and made that downward climb
    To show the Eloi they need not
    End up in Morlocks’ stewing pot.

    And in this future chose to dwell,
    Believing here he might excel
    By teaching Eloi of the past,
    Forgotten since the global blast.

    (Published as “Well[s] Met” in STAR*LINE, Spring 2021, No. 44.2, p. 33)

    MOON TOO SOON?
    (Written in reflection on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 and the first walk on the Moon, July 20, 1969)

    From very beginning, when tragedy struck,
    If Moon race we’re winning, knew needed some luck.
    With Soviet Union already ahead,
    There was no disputing – three astronauts dead.

    Apollo’s first capsule, pure oxygen-filled
    Became deadly trap due to fire that killed.
    Though Russians had suffered from same flawed design,
    No knowledge was proffered. Both nations flew blind.

    The engineers back to the drawing board went,
    Full knowing they had to design reinvent.
    They rushed the new version since Russians had planned
    A lunar excursion with Luna unmanned.

    And while Luna crashed on the surface below,
    Apollo Eight fashioned unique Christmas show.
    No longer in doubt who would now win the race
    Before year is out to save Kennedy’s face.

    And so with Eleven we walked on the Moon.
    But did piece of heaven we conquer too soon?
    Now fifty years later, we’ve never gone back.
    So what did we race for, just chance to talk smack?

    Some say it was worth it, for knowledge we gained.
    But others still curse it, politically framed.
    No bother debating, for long in the past.
    It’s Mars that’s now waiting. Let’s go there at last.

    (Published in FULLOSIA PRESS, Vernal Equinox, April 1, 2021,
    http://rpps_fullosia_press.tripod.com/2021_FP/april_showers.htm)

    Reply

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  1. Joseph S. Salemi on ‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ by Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by Mary Jane MyersJune 30, 2026

    Brian -- yes, I think "or pulse as starlight flares" would be absolutely right. It gets rid of "quasar" and…

  2. Brian Yapko on ‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ by Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by Mary Jane MyersJune 30, 2026

    Mary Jane, this is a wonderful translation of Rilke's original German. I love how you maintained the rhyme-scheme and the…

  3. Zumwalt on ‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ by Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by Mary Jane MyersJune 30, 2026

    Wow! Very impressive, and imaginatively creative, translation feat!

  4. James Sale on ‘Then and Now’: A Sonnet by James SaleJune 30, 2026

    Good advice Nathan - totally agree.

  5. Russel Winick on ‘Not Small At All’ and Other Short Poems by Russel WinickJune 29, 2026

    Thanks Margaret. Speaking of Langston Hughes, it’s an endless fascination to me that my (and many other people’s) two favorite…

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