Audubon liked to paint cattails
They are the background to
Almost all his waterfowl:
Anas Platyrhynchus, Aythya Ferina,
Anas Americana,  posed large as ships
And proud in front of cattails

The Genus Typha of more than 30 species
Of cattails, water sausage, bulrushes,
The rhizomes were eaten by humans
Thirty thousand years ago, ground into flour

His mother died when he was an infant
From an early age, he drew birds in their natural habitat
And over the years the Typha began appearing
Always in the background
His sign of water birds

Audubon knew of the birds departure
And return with the seasons
But the cattails were always there.