This month of February

A stocky cockatoo, prominent for its wit
scrapes its perch and habitually repeats:
“For my Valentine, I've plucked a plump rose!”

After preening, examining its own existence
like a besotted lover lost in a cloud,
it reverts back to a meditative silence
as clock declares the fall of an hour.

When a crepuscular sky fills its eyes
with cherry-hues, it resumes its crackle,
this time, in a sobered baritone:
"For my Valentine, I've dumped a plump rose!"