The Beaver and the Eagle

 © David W. Watts 17/01/2010

 

The beaver and eagle are emblems
Of Kanata and the U-S-A:
Beaver’s an overgrown rodent
The eagle, a bird of prey …

There are beavers everywhere
And eagles in the air
In the bush of North America
And spreading out from here.

Eagle’s assets are his talons
His feathers, beak and claws
Beaver’s, his ends in extremis
His paddle-tail and jaws …

To not be caught by an eagle
Just stand and stay quite still
That won’t help if you’re a tree for a beaver—
He’ll gnaw till he’s had his fill …

Eagle’s not an American original
They borrowed him from Rome
Beaver was a critter for the taking
And outgrew his Canadian home …

Both can be a bloody nuisance
When they choose to hang around:
Eagle for things that he picks up
Beaver, for what he takes down …

An eagle on the prowl is a plutocrat
Fills other creatures with fear
The beaver’s a workaholic
And a damning engineer … (terror in the air, timber everywhere …)

Eagle has a top-down complex
Swooping from on high
Beaver works where no one wants
And folks are all asking “Why?” …

For predatory humans:
Both are things to wear
Beaver ending up as a hat
And Eagle’s feathers in your hair …