Gobble-Lee-Ga

Misunderstood and discounted
The turkey is derided and shunned
Yet, so many traits go uncounted
That you’ll likely be properly stunned

The ten or so eggs the hen lays
Into hollows right there in the ground
Hatch out poults in 28 days
Provided they haven’t been found

Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-goo
Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-ga

Praise the bird known as “turkey”
Despite its regrettable name
Confused traders in Europe
Are the morons to blame

A month later, only one in four’s still kickin’
With luck it might see its tenth year
And at 25 pounds, it’s no chicken
Sharing guard duty with white-tail deer

An opportunistic omnivore
That roosts each night in the trees
Its vision is color with a field of more
Than two hundred and sixty degrees

Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-goo
Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-ga

Their six thousand feathers of keratin
Allow light to pass easily through
So reflections off globules of melanin
Iridesce in copper-green hues

Flat out on the ground they attain
Twenty-five miles per hour
In the air they’re able to maintain
Even double that under wing power

Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-goo
Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-ga

Strong social bonds define each group
Their personalities are uniquely their own
Hens squeeze out corkscrew-shaped poop
And their whole lives they’re never alone

Any animal with spurs and a beard
With caruncles, a wattle or snood
Should be respected or even feared
Rather than thought of as food

Hail the noble creature called “turkey”
That once was nearly extinct
Today, they number seven million
And are in U.S. culture distinct

Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-goo
Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-ga

Remember the regal “turkey”
Forget its nonsensical name
Native to America only
The source of its enduring fame

Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-goo
Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-ga

Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-goo
Gob, gob gob, gobble-lee-ga