I fell in love with penguins
Who choose an improbable ecosystem
In this way Emperors rule
Below Antarctic Circle
In addition to bitter cold, howling wind
Half the year spent in darkness
A desperate egg hand[1]
off
Mom feet to dad feet over the deadly cold
Then mom will fatten on fish
Create a slow stirring circular huddle
Icy edge to warm center
Moms ludicrous[2] to
chow line
Found where ice sheet edge meets nearly frozen sea
Mom plunges in at zoom[3] speed
Dads abide in cold and dark,
Brave many months of devotional famine
Survival focused on egg
Moms gorge for the journey back
Packing on pounds which emphasize her ovalness
And enable her whee[4]
speed
The chick crèche calls out sweetly
Returning adults find one chick from within
The haunting soft trumpet cloud
The iconic Emperor
Photo of tiny chick on parental feet
Feathering toward his fledge