This is an Educational Poem About Musk Oxen
This is an educational poem about musk oxen
There is no deep metaphor involved
So don’t look for one.
Musk oxen live in herds of about thirty individuals
Across Northern Europe, Greenland, Canada, and Alaska
They have some of the longest hair in the animal kingdom
And their undercoat–which they shed naturally in springtime–
Is a prized fiber for making cold-weather clothing:
Warmer than wool and softer than cashmere.
They are known for their unique defense to predators
Which is particularly adapted to protecting against wolves
When threatened, musk oxen run to each other and face the threat together
Forming a circle of pointy horns that is practically impenetrable to a wolf pack
Humans have turned this to their own advantage: provoking defensive behavior
And using it to pick them off one-by-one from a safe distance
Musk oxen, despite their name, are not oxen
Nor do they actually produce musk.
They are more closely related to sheep,
And their distinctive, seasonal smell
Comes from the questionable practice of males
Urinating on their own belly fur to attract females
There continue to be musk ox calves
So presumably this is effective
Although, have you heard about the problem with lesbian sheep?
You see, the mating practice of females in the sheep family
Is comprised entirely of standing very, very, still
So if two ewes liked each other; they’d never know
And if they didn’t like a bull, but thought they should–
Or didn’t really know what to do and just froze–
Well I guess we’d never really know about that, either.
Are you looking for a metaphor yet?