Birds of Paradise

New Guinea’s myth and glamour
That seemingly entice
Us into the forests
Where birds of paradise
Show off with their fashion sense
So diverse, they are
Layering their colours
Each following its star

Adornments were consequential
Attracting and ensuring
The female of the species
Could be so much more enduring
They were less endowed with colour
But more inclined to be
Sedate and fairly passive
Looking down from off their tree

Back in the 1500 “s
Or there about’s we heard
They were known
as the winged gods
They were the true
“Cool”bird
Violaceous, cerulean
Aquamarine and more
Aureate a rainbow whisper
Crystalline it tore

As a pigment through ones eyes
To just excite the brain
These birds, were just so dazzling
A phosphorescent stain
In cabinets of curiosity
These most varying forms
Were shipped back from the tropics
Through really frightening storms
Kings and queens were adamant
What priceless gems were to hand
Ornithological miracles
That helped us understand

The sunlight brought the colour
Into western eyes to see
They shipped some to the London Zoo
Such a rarity
They were
Naturalists were overcome
By their largely exotic look
These cockroach eating phenomena
That truthfully had took
The world by storm
Their beauty, their elegance
Still to this day
They are being measured
By their purposeful display