The Armadillo Walks About

The Armadillo Walks About

The armadillo walks about

In armor that allows him to

Defend him from his foes without

That often damage would him do.

He’s covered by a sort of shell

Of leather as a hardened skin

Which suits the armadillo well

When it’s a ball he rolls up in.

The puma and the coyote are

His rare and only enemies

So that he ought to stay afar

And not be risking injuries.

He feeds himself on beetles that

He’s fond of, insects to pursue

And larvae underneath the mat

Of sod as they are out of view.

For berries in the bushes where

The armadillo finds, his shell 

Protects him that he has to wear,

So that it suits him very well.

The mother bears a brood of four

Quadruplets suckling them so

It’s after two months and no more

Her babies are all good to go. 

Once South America was home

As they had been indigenous;

Now armadillos come and roam

In our Southwest amongst us.

They cross over the border though

When they are barely noticed by

Us, where they come from Mexico—

By day they know how low to lie.

The burrows that they tend to dig

For their survival underground,

Can cause us problems that are big

As homeowners indeed’ve found.

To grounds the damage that they do

By often undermining them,

Where sidewalks can crack open too,

Create a great opprobrium.

(I shouldn’t be surprised if they

Could even undermine a house,

For armadillos make their way

Just as a team of oxen plows.)

By touching them too much you get

The leprosy they carry well,

So to your health they’d be a threat

If not for a protective shell.

So all in all I’d have to say

That nature is quite wise in that

So long as armadillos stay

Away from us, where we are at,

We’re better off, and very well

Away from armadillos where

A double measure of their shell

A lot of trouble does us spare.

It’s possible to learn from all

The creatures we’re surrounded by,

Just like the armadillo’s ball,

And by daylight how low they lie.

While for diseases you might get

From armadillos you may meet

Don’t try to make of one your pet

Nor feast upon its tender meat.