One of Our Geese Is Missing

Never liked their incessant honking—

Worse than a dog on a nightlong howl;

Their ubiquitous shit decorating the sidewalk;

Notes warning us not to bother them

Because California protects its waterfowl.

One terrified my little grandson,

Flapped its obnoxious wings and screamed,

While we strolled around the complex

Enjoying a slow Sunday’s meandering.

Then they had their goslings—

Apparently eggs were stashed

Somewhere in our bushes,

Which explained their aggression.

Cute! Can’t hate babies.

I watched them grow so fast

And admired how the parent geese

Stuck close to the five littles, 

Keeping watch as they nibbled

And swam in formation in the fake lake.

My four-year-old grandson is a third of me,

But in a few months I couldn’t tell

The goslings from the adults,

Especially after everyone’s feathers turned brown

(Except for their fluffy white butt down).

Suddenly, there were only six—

One, a bit larger and still protective,

Mama goose, I assumed,

But maybe she had vamoosed,

Couldn’t take all the noise and poop,

Ran off to hide in a chicken coop.

Or did the dad fly away

In search of a new mate,

A new pond to play in, new eggs to lay?

You know how men are.

Maybe one of the teenagers escaped,

Looking for his or her own place, a clean slate.

God forbid one was shot and

Stewed in someone’s crockpot.

I can’t stop thinking about them;

I keep going outside to count.

Six. Every time six.

Never seven.

They don’t seem to care;

They peck and swim unruffled and serene.

Perhaps I should take the lesson:

Sometimes you simply have to accept loss

And slog on through the quotidian.

Because what else is there?

You move on, you survive…

Today there are five.

~*~

I wrote this free verse in 2024 for my poetry book Recollections May Vary and was inspired to post it here this morning in “honor” of the return of the honkers. Yep, a noisy, messy Canadian goose came back to our pool the other day, pooping everywhere and yelling for a mate. I guess one responded because now there are two. God only knows why they need to start honking at 4am every morning…