THE WOODPECKER

I heard a sound in the forest
a very loud sound.
Anxious to know what it was,
I followed with anxiety
to suddenly come across a woodpecker
busy at work.

Its machine-gun pecks can be heard
hundreds of yards away.
The pecking might seem quite useless
but through it, the woodpecker
makes a living.

The woodpecker!
Truly one of the marvels of nature.
Looks so uniquely developed
to have an amazing tongue
three times as long as its beak.
Where does it store such a long tongue?

The woodpecker's beak
works like a chisel, though different
capable of boring right into a tree.
Chisels may lose their sharpness,
but the woodpecker's beak
always remains sharp and effective.

A special shock absorbing head it has
like taking the full impact of a hammer
in your head, thousands of times.
No ordinary bird can withstand that,
except the strong woodpecker.

The woodpecker
has not ordinary tail feathers
but specially designed ones to anchor it
while going about its business

Wonderful feathers
to allow it lean back
to literally throw its body
into its work.