by Ruth S. Baker

“Return of takahē—large, flightless bird—to alpine slopes of the South Island marks a conservation victory in New Zealand”
—The Guardian

Suggestive of a globe on legs,
Its beak a boiled crustacean,
The lost takahe, plus its eggs,
Returns to glad our nation.

This flightless fowl with portly paunch
Resolves a point at issue:
However much you fail to launch,
There’s someone who will miss you.