Will Fly For Food

Butterfly in Shades of Camouflage
Converted Photo to Cel-Shaded Cartoon Using Image To Cartoon Website
Original Photo Taken by Poet at Phipps Botanical Conservatory
Memorial Day Weekend 2019

Will Fly For Food

Acrobatic birds can dive energetically for glucose, 

Even as the felines watch, 

Waving their tailfeathers in the air, 

To their perch, they add another notch. 

Felines gain hope, inspiring jumpy keen longing, 

The birds keep teasing the predators, 

Flying lower as if doing the limbo, 

Despite tempting fate, shunning grim reaper creditors. 

Masterful nature offers perches quaintly, rightly spaced, 

The birds take breaks from sweet drinks, 

Fly lower, eating little leaf gnats, 

Watching the cats snicker, as wingbeat winks. 

Radiant songbirds travel ubiquitously, valiant warriors, 

Beautiful as they fly, spreading song, 

Despite teasing the cats on the ground, 

A day without these creatures would feel too long.

Poet's Notes:

This was written for a contest involving consecutive words in alphabetical order within the opening line of each stanza. A-G in Line 1; F-L in Line 5; M-S in Line 9; R-W in Line 13.

The poem itself was inspired by watching our cats in the backyard observe hummingbirds and other birds visiting a hanging hummingbird feeder suspended from our grapevine trellis. We often laugh at the cats' reactions and the playful interactions that occur between predator and prey. Fortunately for the birds, it is rare for any of the cats to successfully catch one, so the entire scene often feels more like a game of tease than an actual hunt.

While a butterfly image may initially seem mismatched with a poem centered on birds and cats, butterflies are fellow winged visitors that are also drawn toward sweetness. If I ever manage to capture the perfect photograph of the cats snickering at the birds, I may add it to this blog post later. Until then, I am happy to feature this butterfly photograph that I took during a Memorial Day weekend trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2019.

Original Image

Submitted Photograph for Another Contest

Not Contest Winner - But Still One of My Favorite Photos