Francis Duggan - Emus

Their tiny wings so weak and useless condemn them to life on the ground
The National birds of Australia in large flocks are not to be found
Yet not seen as an endangered species emus are not seen everywhere
And in parts of their range which seems a worry the big birds are becoming rare
The female emu is not a devoted parent she leaves the hard work to her mate
He raises the chicks all on his own and the eggs on his own incubate
He is such a wonderful father his chicks with his life he defend
And only when his young become self sufficent his role as a sole parent does end
The emu's voice is rather guttural a sort of a deep drumming sound
The fastest running birds in Australia each day they cover acres of ground
The emu's eggs are of a dark green even for a large bird quite large eggs she lay
And to lay up to twenty eggs for her must be hard work the only part in parenting she does play
They are not on the list of the endangered and they are birds one does not see every day
But they do have a curious nature which can be their undoing sad to say.

Francis Duggan

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/emus/