out there (the macaw & the hound)

somewhere out there
a basset hound lives in the same house as a
macaw.

the gorgeous tropical bird,
bearing its staggeringly spectacular array of
intensely prepossessing &
polychromasiac
hues,
dominant in the household as an exotic
spectacle
whose mere presence in a non-tropical environment
pulls in the curious onlooker.

it stands upon its little
perch,
staring down at the hound---
the perpetually sad looking,
perfect model of evolution
(wherein the imperfections of natural selection can be seen in its
extremely long ears that touch the ground, its stubby legs that are far too
short for its body, etc.---one can make the argument that the poor basset hound
has not been fortunate to lose such ridiculous traits as of yet),
stands almost teary eyed
with its neck bent at an angle,
looking straight up in the direction of the macaw
its feeble attempt is noticed by the majestic bird.

cawing down at the hound,
the bird baffles---
the hound,
whose name is derived from the french adjective for
“rather low,”
ponders the bird’s exchange,
wondering if it is ridiculing &
taunting it for being such a sort of, um,
mistake---
it spends little time deciding &
barks back at the bird in its bellowing manner.

in the already unnatural cage the human owners of these two
creatures,
a new animal kingdom of two has arisen---
the hounds knows not what to make of this bright colored bird &
the bird,
rather unaffected by the odd character
way
down
there
below,
seems to enjoy the pandering back & forth,
as if in a conversation
where the both of them are understanding mutually the exchange that is
occurring.

and while the insanity of the macaw & the hound persists
(the hound bellowing & the macaw trying to mimic the bellow in an
effort to see how the hound’s day is going),
these two animals come to a consensus
that together in such a situation
they are both equally out of their element &
a new bond is formed,
an allegiance, if you will,
wherein psittacidae & canidae
have found common ground---

resist these humans at all costs.