The World's Most Dangerous Bird
by Eamon O'Caoineachan
The Cassowary is one of the world’s
most dangerous birds—casuarius
by name, wary of humans by nature—
humans should be wary too—its dagger
like claw fatally kills, and its horned head
chases and charges at you if you’re too close—
however, danger is only relative
to human perception and understanding.
Somewhere in our evolution there is
shared ancestry between birdsong and speech—
we too have our dagger-claws that we use
to protect our young and defend territory—
without us—they are shy, flightless birds,
solitary, eating fruit in the Queensland
rain forest—the fruit fallen by the felled trees—
the world’s most dangerous bird is man.
About the Author
Eamon O'Caoineachan is a poet, originally from Co. Donegal, Ireland, but living in Houston, Texas. His work is published in The Ekphrastic Review, Vita Brevis Press and The University of St. Thomas's literary magazines, Thoroughfare and Laurels. He is the recipient of The Robert Lee Frost-Vince D’Amico Poetry Award and the Rev. Edward A. Lee Endowed Scholarship in English at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. He is completing his MA in English and working on his first poetry collection.