The roost

      
It was some time after the mad cow epidemic      
And all other diseases that affected the brain      
That an unheard-of infection went unreported      
Where the chickens from a farm had gone insane…      
       
My wife and I bought a place just outside of town      
Even though the housing market prices were very steep      
The agent disclosed that the previous owners had all died      
And as you can guess it, we got the farmhouse for cheap      
       
But once we moved in weird things started transpiring      
Open cupboards and broken dishes were a regular thing      
I thought may be racoons were sneaking into the house      
Until one night as we had dinner we saw flying chicken wings    
       
And although I loved to eat fried chicken weekly      
These strange occurrences only happened on those nights      
If we had baked chicken then there’d be clucking sounds      
All fucking night coming from the attic until morning light      
       
Another night as I was putting the kids to bed I heard a scream      
When I ran into the bedroom my wife was stuck up in the ceiling      
And though I was feeling a bit scared I remembered her to-do list      
“Honey,  while you’re up there, check the paint I think it’s peeling”      
       
My sons freaked us out the most (you know how funny boys can be)      
Laughing at snow on the T.V. like it was some sort of comedy show      
And though I was snacking on a piece fried chicken leg at the time      
I thought “OK, I must cleanse this house, but I’ll start tomorrow”      
       
My daughter then looked at the window and said “they’re here”      
An army of zombie ghost chickens had all come home to roost      
Hens were at my fence and hence I got hungry so I had a snack      
I remembered – dead family, insane chickens equals, oh, I deduced      
       
They had chicken knives and chicken pitchforks and picket signs      
Chicken wives had chicken cries that cackled chicken lives matter      
Unhatched eggs had legs sticking out walking along the lines      
But when they saw me eating chicken it only made them madder      
       
My oldest daughter came home to a bunch of pecking and clucking      
She screamed “What the fuck is happening?” with confusion and fear      
Immediately I called my agent and told them “You son of a bitch…      
You plucked them chucked their bones and buried them right here!”      
       
The earth was quaking, the house started shaking, so I stopped baking      
Because the host of chicken zombie ghosts were starting to flock      
Then we saw the biggest meanest looking rooster with the hens      
My wife with tears in her eyes said “Oh my, that’s a big cock”      
       
I rushed into the kitchen and had one last bite of fried chicken      
No time to call the authorities to tell them we were under attack      
I got my keys and told my wife and kids “OK y’all time to dip”      
My family and I got in our station wagon and never looked back

 
I live on a ranch where everything is free to roam
my feathered friends included
I love to watch them strut and preen
doing lovey courting dances
some of them brightly feathered
the smaller roosters follow the cock of the block
the fiercest rooster among them being boss

they pick out choice grubs
picking all day as long as the sun is up
the hens are kept safe by the cock
who guards against cats and fox

early to rise with a cock a doodle do
and early to roost as the sun kisses the sky adie

my chickens went missing for a day
a weed wacker had scared them to my dismay
they were at my neighbors
my heart swelled with relief when they came home again, to roost

it's a chicken's life here on the ranch
a hippy place of art and plants
tomorrow will be a new day

cock doodle do to you
and good night

The rooster crows!
The rooster scares
the hours of the day!
In the portals of the night
the late afternoon.
In the morning arches
the beginning of the day.

The rooster sees the breeder...
In his cackle is the warning
for all poultry
and for all the farm animals
of those human hands
looking for something to eat.

The rooster attacks his operatic aria
with emphasis on sunlight
which shows the murderous hands.
Those hands full of fingers
breaking necks and plucking feathers.

Those hands want to kill in cold blood
one of the beings in the chicken coop...
They will pick some vegetables too
But that doesn't matter now.

Alas my poor Yoke is doomed to be fried        
along with its cock or hen's albumen,        
there was know way of knowing, I tried and tried,      
but it had no chance, strutting Cock or Hen?        
       
What? You egg! You'd spit your hot cooking fat        
out, ouch, damned spot, you bellow for revenge?      
I must now commit murder most foul... Splat!        
a bust yoke, my fingers of toast descend        
       
To a rapidly congealing egg yoke        
perhaps I should've boiled the poor dead thing,        
It's turning to be a macabre joke        
on birds who only croak and never sing...        
       
Another chicken didn't cross the road        
Oh, how many more? Their god only knows.      
       
       
 

The callous lie
when Jesus was himself denied
the tolling bell
where falsehood dwells
its cry to wring the conscience
and to so compy
for that denial once declared
laid the warer bare
 do you know this man they asked?
replied a "NO" that sounded crass
 his heart was gutted, and head so bowed
 tears enough in torrents flowed
his faith was questioned thrice
so listen for the "crow" is my advice
hold your faith in our saviour Christ
came Peters shame and soiled reputation
the lesson hold our own redemption
to stand steadfast without a doubt
pass the test not chicken out

One summer I was in my pool when a rooster arrived
Two doors down he would crow with pride
In my town, it's illegal to own
Constantly crowing, I picked up the phone
Authorities came, the owner was fined
Situation continued, nothing rectified
Endless noise throughout the year
How much more will I need to hear?
Every morning he woke me up around five
One day I paid a visit, shot him, and he died