The Oddballs and Ostracized - Oct 4 20232

 

The Oddballs and Ostracized

Oct 4 2023

Some geese are holding out.

Despite hearing the flocks

heading south

a month ago

   —   squawking and squabbling

in the ragged Vs

that signal fall   —

I heard some sounding off

in the dark

on a clear November night.

Is it the unseasonable warmth?

Are they a stubborn pair,

proud non-conformists?

Or are they, like an old irascible couple

still arguing

about the fastest route,

which rest stop is best,

how to miss the crowds?

I've been told they mate for life,

and we all know

how that goes;

a spirited fight

that's quickly forgotten.

Or perhaps they're bachelor birds

who never attracted a mate,

but are still keen to breed

as nature intended?

Sending out their plaintive cries

and hoping for a reply

while the world's still green

the sun still shines?

Or are they outliers,

whose DNA has somehow been tweaked

so that they leave late;

nature's way

to save a species

when conditions change?

Like mosquitoes in October,

early blooming flowers

that risk a sudden frost.

The oddballs and ostracized

who suffer for their difference

but will save us in the end.

Or be caught

by an early winter

a sudden snow?

End up frozen

in darkness

bereft of hope.