The Turkey Wattle & Gobbledly-Gobble

"Wattle?"

"You must mean my beauty mark."

THE TURKEY WATTLE

Said the Turtle to the Turkey

Every time he came to visit,

"There's a funny hunk of wrinkle

Where your chin should be, what is it?"

Said the Turkey to the Turtle,

"Oh, this rubber decoration?

Heavens, no, I wouldn't tell you

'Cause it makes for conversation.

At Thanksgiving during dinner-

It's my relative they're carving!-

Silly People sit around and

Stuff themselves as if they're starving,

And you know the only question

They can think of while they visit?

"Say, that funny hunk of wrinkle

Round a Turkey's chin, what is it?!"

GOBBLEDY-GOBBLE

How they laughed!

"He's so scrawny.

Scrawny! Scrawny! they taunt me.

"Not handsome and brawny.

He's ugly as sin."

So, gobbledy-gobble,

I'm not with the mob

because of the shape that I'm in.

"The worst on the block.

A disgrace to the flock."

They're ashamed to admit

they're my kin.

Well, sometimes they hurt

('Twould be nice to be pretty.)

but common sense says,

"You're a winner."

For on Thanksgiving Day

they have all gone away

to be somebody's good-looking dinner.

Turkey Country

A painting by Ryan Kirby

2010 National Wildlife Federation

Stamp Print of the Year

"The Turkey Wattle"

A poem by J. Patrick Lewis

(1985)

"Gobbledy-Gobble"

A poem by Felice Hoffman

(1985)