The Animals are Leaving

One by one, like guests at a late party They shake our hands and step into the dark: Arabian ostrich; Long-eared kit fox; Mysterious starling. One by one, like sheep counted to close our eyes, They leap the fence and disappear into the woods: Atlas bear; Passenger pigeon; North Island laughing owl; Great auk; Dodo; Eastern wapiti; Badlands bighorn sheep. One by one, like grade school friends, They move away and fade out of memory: Portuguese ibex; Blue buck; Auroch; Oregon bison; Spanish imperial eagle; Japanese wolf; Hawksbill Sea turtle; Cape lion; Heath hen; Raiatea thrush. One by one, like children at a fire drill, they march outside, And keep marching, though teachers cry, "Come back!" Waved albatross; White-bearded spider monkey; Pygmy chimpanzee; Australian night parrot; Turquoise parakeet; Indian cheetah; Korean tiger; Eastern harbor seal ; Ceylon elephant ; Great Indian rhinoceros. One by one, like actors in a play that ran for years And wowed the world, they link their hands and bow Before the curtain falls.