Wordbirds, 10

This new series—“Wordbirds”—arises from a journey I will take through my Webster’s 3rd Dictionary. What I will do: I’ll look on the first page for each letter, and the first word that flies up at me (because I don’t know it, because I just think it’s interesting, etc.) becomes the subject for that day’s doggerel. I will move through letter z, then work my way back again, the second time using the last page of each letter’s section of Webster's. Let’s see what happens ...

Words that flew into my life from Webster’s 3^rd …

jabiru  noun  [jab-uh-ROO]

A large stork of tropical America

He knew that most birds perched and flew—

But then he saw a jabiru.

She saw it standing in a lake—

Its whole design seemed some mistake

Until a luckless fish swam by

And learned that “future” was a lie—

At least, his was. And her quick thought

Had changed—the fish was caught;

The jabiru was eating now,

And she had quickly learned just how

A human being can be wrong—

Such learning needn't take so long!