by Sandra L. Toney
A few morsels of bread,
Some leftover corn or wheat,
And plenty of green grass was enough for the growing families to eat.
Some residents began to grow angry
Because their lawns were their life
But the birds never meant to cause discord or strife.
All the yelling and shooing could not prevent
The tired, unknowing flock from going ashore
To rest their weary legs for an hour or more.
One day a loud gunshot rang throughout the air
And a sleepy little gosling took a bullet in the head
The gunman didn't seem to care if an innocent baby was dead.
The remaining flock fled in fright and fear
But one brave goose stayed behind
To see if her beloved child she could somehow find.
The little one would die an agonizing death
And a mother and father would live forever with the pain
But from all of this hatred, was there anything to gain?
The gunman now had a lawn free of droppings and muck
But he could never bring back the young life he had ended
And a flock full of broken hearts can't ever be mended.
