Poem: "Birds of War"
This poem came from the June 2012 Torn World Muse Fusion. It was inspired by a prompt from wyld_dandelyon. It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. This poem belongs to the Torn World project. A brief summary of the avian ecosystem is public; the details are for contributors only.
Birds of War
The cavalry is coming,
Soldiers of Roluma mounted
On their fierce deathbeaks,
Weapons at the ready.
Scarlet axebeaks are red with blue-green wings;
Azure axebeaks are blue with yellow undersides.
Their terrible jaws can bite a man in half.
These are the mounts of nobility.
The generals ride spearbeaks
Marked like the wild ones,
With great spiky topknots.
Lesser ranks ride domestic breeds.
There are white Dancing Dots
With feathers spotted black
And crests tipped with red
As if dipped in blood.
There are bullion Goldies
With cheek puffs, muffs, and beards.
Like the Dancing Dots,
They are the mounts of officers.
The Gazers are drab tan
Except for their cheek puffs tipped with
Eyespots of red and gold, blue and green.
They carry scouts with stealth and speed.
The Darkies are metallic black
With red-brown on the neck and wings,
Sturdy and reliable, if less flashy.
They bear the rank and file soldiers.
The grass hides the Roluman army
As well as it hides the wild deathbeaks,
Green-gold curtains parting to reveal
A sudden vivid flash of doom.