“Where is the blame,” the Osprey asked,

“For all that I devour

The fish and the reptiles at worst

I must eat every hour

Is it my fault that I must eat?”

The Marlin’s face grew sour

 

“You eat,” the Marlin raised his voice,

“And no, that’s not absurd

You are the king over the sea

A quite substantial bird

It’s sad to see the schools and nests

They’ve learned to trust your word”

 

“So it is not blame that you cast

A problem with my truth?

My mother taught me how to fly

I learned to eat in youth

I cannot change my diet now

I’ve not a single tooth”

 

The Marlin was quite dignified

And resolute he asked:

“Perhaps you eat the smaller birds”

With guilt Osprey was tasked

“I’ll no more be the trusted death!”

And in the sun he basked

 

The Marlin watched the transformed bird

He swayed upon the wind

The conversation sounded nice

The fish about him grinned

At once the Marlin drove headlong

A whole school met their end

 

The Osprey drifted on the breeze

A sea bird through and through

He came up to a tall palm tree

Where the coconuts grew

A gull was nursing hatchlings there

But these he’d not pursue

 

He landed on a willow next

That perched upon the coast

Where birds of every color sang

And cheered him with a toast

“You are the finest bird we’ve seen

No colors, still you boast!”

 

The Marlin pierced his sword right through

A dozen colored fish

He did not eat them but a few

No mercy did he wish

He dove and rose and dove again

Piercing dish after dish

 

The Osprey came up to a dock

The Pelican sat there

His wing saluted as they do

The Pelican swept air

“Could I perch here and sit awhile

My heart is filled with care”

 

“What is it friend, we’re of a kind

Perhaps we share lament”

The Osprey gathered his feathers

And then tried to repent

“Those little fish I eat them so

And I cannot relent”

 

“I’ve tried to switch to little birds

But they are so like me”

The Pelican raised up his beak

“You’d eat what you can be?

Your beak, like me, is made for fish

What is this trickery?”

 

The Osprey told the talk he had

The debate that began

When the Marlin met on the wave

The Osprey on the land

“He seemed to care an awful lot

I truly understand.”

 

The pelican was baffled so

“But Marlin eat fish too

They find little ones delicious

The same as me and you”

The Osprey grew so discontent

“He said something untrue?”

 

“I’ve warned the little fish below

That I must eat and eat

I tell them to watch out for me

He stalks them in deceit?

Like little birds I’d never feast

On things that can’t retreat”

 

The Pelican was happy then

That Osprey heard his voice

The sea bird must eat little fish

Though Osprey had a choice

So windswept wings took off again

The birds both did rejoice

 

Then after some time of searching

The Pelican moved on

The Osprey dove into the wave

But everything was gone

That’s when a long sword-nose appeared

The Marlin – the great con

 

“I’ve eaten every fish you see”

The Marlin said with glee

“I’ll eat up all the birds, now hear

Since I’ve emptied the sea”

The Osprey was so mortified

“You’ll never strike at me!”

 

The Marlin launched into the air

His sword a mile long

The Osprey soared into the sky

A predatory song

The Marlin could not catch him there

“You stay where you belong!”

 

The Pelican was at his perch

A dock where nothing swam

The Osprey came and sat with him

As two birds on the lam

The Pelican asked what was wrong

“You learn the Marlin’s scam?”

 

The Osprey looked unto his friend

And saddened wistfully

“The Marlins eaten all the fish

So now there’s none for me”

With that the Pelican grew faint

“We’ll starve to death, you see?”

 

The Osprey angered more and more

Left Pelican and flew

“I’ll find a fish that we can eat

One big enough for two”

At once he saw great fins emerge

And dove then as they grew

 

The Marlin tipped then launched himself

Into the air he spun

He never came back to the sea

Though once a clever one

The Pelican and the Osprey

Perched; bellies in the sun