To make talk and swoon

Gary Soto's poem The dime-store parakeet reminded me of a recent visit to Animal zoo in Bordentown.


Mom sends the kids to
the zoo with 'talk
to the parrot'
Macaws dont talk, not
interested in corn or
popcorn
A white cockatoo
lets popcorn hand fed
son calls 'it gentle'
unlike the macaw which
made a 3yr old daughter
blame the father for
letting it eat her hand
A kid's futile attempts
to land corn into a bowl
above him and behind a
mesh bring out the evil in
a foreign tone mommy.
Cockatoo has some popcorns
and doesnt miss the lost
Its time to say bye
and thats when it says
Hello
we all turn back
In frenzy, White Cockatoo
lifts its crest
and nods the head up and down
I clap and the head nods in
fervor.
Later a video showed my head
nodding too.