Ballade of Urban Wildlife

Why roam the Amazon
when you can find us here?
We that John Audubon
once painted without peer
warble in your ear.
We flit and sing away
at dawn or dusk. It’s clear
your city’s our buffet.

Why flip when crows at dawn
nibble your corn? Why fear
us when you happen on
a badger or a deer?
Why rave when ravens veer
from nest to French fried prey?
You loathe us, yet all year
your city’s our buffet.

When alligators yawn
inside the sewers, then steer
their great cold-blooded brawn
up to your well-lit sphere,
giving rise to sheer
mass panic, they obey
strong drives at a frontier:
your city’s our buffet.

Though trucks or cars may smear
our blood around, we’ll stay
inevitably near.
Your city’s our buffet!