![](\"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/The-Last-Dodo-by-Heathcote-Williams-Cold-Turkey-Press-.jpg\" "\\"'The")
<\/a>Illustration \u00a9 by Elena Caldera<\/font><\/p><\/div>But the bird was fearless and easily lured aboard After it had lived out its life in England Its first owner in its afterlife was John Tradescant, For through it man\u2019s begun to learn that extinction A Dutch sailor, Volkert Evertsz, described the bird In \u2018Wonderland\u2019 the Dodo\u2019s portrayed as benign People say that something\u2019s \u201cas dead as a Dodo\u201d The Dodo may have died out from being too nice; When it was alive it was briefly displayed in London But the bird was fearless and easily lured aboard By an offer of unlimited ship\u2019s biscuits. By a miracle the bird survived the crew\u2019s curiosity And their wondering if it tasted delicious. After it had lived out its life in England A taxidermist was called when it died. He stuffed it and, to retain its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19,18,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-art","8":"category-literature","9":"category-political-culture","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Dodo-illustration-by-Elena-Caldera.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbvgEs-48U","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15928"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15943,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15928\/revisions\/15943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBy an offer of unlimited ship\u2019s biscuits.
\nBy a miracle the bird survived the crew\u2019s curiosity
\nAnd their wondering if it tasted delicious.<\/p>\n
\nA taxidermist was called when it died.
\nHe stuffed it and, to retain its luxuriant plumage,
\nCunning preservatives were applied.<\/p>\n
\nWho passed it onto Elias Ashmole,
\nSince when this comical but salutary creature
\nHas become a curator of the earth\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n
\nCan last for the rest of time
\nAnd thus cherish an inhabitant of paradise whose life
\nWas ended by a carnivorous crime.<\/p>\n
\nAs showing concern for its fellow creature:
\n\u201cWhen I held one, he cried and others ran forward
\nTo help the bird that was held prisoner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nGiven its invention of a \u2018caucus race\u2019
\nIn which everyone entering ends up winning
\nAnd is accordingly is then given a prize.<\/p>\n
\nAs if relishing the Dodo\u2019s demise,
\nYet it lives on as an innocent victim of that progress
\nThat prefers sunset to a hopeful sunrise.<\/p>\n
\nLarge and flightless with an excess of trust.
\nThose who last saw it alive in the seventeenth century
\nSaid the Dodo was friendly. And now it\u2019s dust.<\/p>\n
\nAs part of an urban freak show;
\nIn death it\u2019s become a testament to the folly of mankind,
\nA less loveable laughing-stock than the Dodo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"