The Goose from Confusing Times by Tyler Shipley

I was just walking along a section of the Black Creek
I’ve walked this way before but always stopped a bit further east
but this chilly March day I went west to discover
that there’s a quiet marshy area over there where the creek hits the river

There were the ducks and geese and the red wing blackbirds
and some robins and a cardinal and at one point I heard
a silly little sound that turned out to be a muskrat crossing the path
and I focused on the ways he was like a beaver and ignored the ways he was like a rat

And later on I was watching a goose sitting in an imperious goosey way
and I thought 'they’re so funny these geese they really think they’re better than us, hey?'
and then I noticed some ruffling from underneath her feathers
and out popped a ridiculous yellow gosling just waddling away

And before I knew it there were eleven more goslings on the loose
and my mind was boggling at how the hell they all fit underneath just one goose
and I watched these silly things running around and exploring
and crashing into each other like the animals in cartoons I used to watch in the morning

So I watched them for awhile before I turned to head home
cos I hadn’t eaten lunch and I was getting hungry and cold
but on the walk back I remembered a show I used to watch with my parents
when I was a very little kid called Marty Stouffers Wild America

I don’t want to look Marty up because there’s good odds that he’s a bastard
briefly on TV with animals in the 80s and now an old conservative
but I remember that show was extremely exciting for little me
and I was so into it that for awhile I told my parents when I grew up I was gonna be a zookeeper

This faded away quickly for a variety of reasons
partly just you’re a kid and your interests change with the passing seasons
and growing up I eventually realized that zoos are pretty awful
and when it comes down to it, with most animals I’m really not that comfortable

But you don’t have to be 80s Marty Stouffer to appreciate a goose
they’re funny and arrogant and graceful and they can be sweet if you maintain the truce
that you keep a safe distance from them and especially their babies unless you’ve got bread
in which case, throw it down, don't fuck around, the goose is gonna get fed

• Folk
• avantgarde
• experimental folk
• indie
• sadcore
• singer-songwriter
• Toronto