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©Jabiru’s Prayer

on 1st January 2009

Let me begin the year with a fervent prayer – a prayer of intercession.
To arm my fellow beings knowledge, kindness, generosity and compassion,
A prayer that will bring all bird species to an absolute redemption.
Let me begin to pray a Jabiru’s prayer without any reservation.

To protect, conserve and preserve me and my world a yonder,
A prayer that will set me free to where I belong, to marshes far beyond.
Of rivers teaming with fish, crustaceans and occasional frogs be got,
To a world where lakes, billabongs and wetlands beckon- ‘forget me not’.

To stand 4 feet tall like a portrait in canvas, graced by artist palate’s embrace,
Of a threatened species painted ebony and ivory in solitary confinement malaise.
Of a place where man from Mars call Conservation Park and Bird Sanctuary,
To me, I call Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus Long term Mental Infirmary.

They say how good I look behind those fences as they gawk, he cheers,
I say how sad and lonely my solitude is, my eyes brimmed with tears.
They say how lucky I am to get my breakfast in bed, my dinner on a plate,
I say, ‘thank-you’ but what’s the use for no beau to share my fish on a plate.

As I kneel in earnest request for an absolution,
I pray for a Cardinal’s miracle of a sun beam seeking solution.
To lift my prayer to heaven for a conservative decision,
I kneel in prayer, your answer to my Jabiru’s prayer in bird conservation.

AVIAN WRITER DAISY O’NEILL PENANG MALAYSIA
© JABIRU’S PRAYER
(Jabiru is the old name used for Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus)

If you like this post please tap on the Like button at the left bottom of page. Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors/contributors, and are not endorsed by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM, NUS) or its affiliated institutions. Readers are encouraged to use their discretion before making any decisions or judgements based on the information presented.

YC Wee

Dr Wee played a significant role as a green advocate in Singapore through his extensive involvement in various organizations and committees: as Secretary and Chairman for the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch), and with the Nature Society (Singapore) as founding President (1978-1995). He has also served in the Nature Reserve Board (1987-1989), Nature Reserves Committee (1990-1996), National Council on the Environment/Singapore Environment Council (1992-1996), Work-Group on Nature Conservation (1992) and Inter-Varsity Council on the Environment (1995-1997). He is Patron of the Singapore Gardening Society and was appointed Honorary Museum Associate of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2012. In 2005, Dr Wee started the Bird Ecology Study Group. With more than 6,000 entries, the website has become a valuable resource consulted by students, birdwatchers and researchers locally and internationally. The views and opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not represent those of LKCNHM, the National University of Singapore or its affiliated institutions.

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