Lyle York's Trip to Costa Rica

In the Land of the Great Potoo

We heard that the land of the Great Potoo

Has marvelous creatures and places to see:

Quetzal and mot-mot and the great jabiru,

Hummingbirds jeweled in violet and blue,

Café con leche and fruits of the tree,

Lunches for school kids, and no arm-ee.

We heard these tales and packed with glee.

“Take us there, Skybird!” we cried, and we flew

To the land of the Great Potoo.

Howler and rooster at break of day;

All we could eat in the place, but no tray;

It was steaming or cold;

We were covered with mold;

We had itches and scratches and turista too

In the land of the Great Potoo.

But onward we plunged!

For the visions of green

Gave us joy, and for those who could see

There were trogon, cotinga, pauraque and parrot,

Coquette and manakin, caiman and otter.

With eagle-eyed Carlos and Caitlin the spotter,

And Lisa’s acumen and Paco’s voodoo,

We were learning the land of the Great Potoo.

Yet we had not seen the Great Potoo,

That wise old spirit, none sager than he,

Who could whisper the secret of this coun-tree.

So we braved the volcano, the tourists, the flu,

We rode through bananas and sailed up the slough

Through the mud and the goo

And knelt at the feet of … the Great Potoo.

We begged him to tell us: Was it a dream?

Did we see what we saw, O Great Potoo?

He said not a word. But we knew.

Our hearts filled with rapture

And took wing and flew,

For it’s true!

It’s all true!

It’s all true!