Have You Herd?

Of what shall a man be proud,
if he is not proud of his friends?
Robert Louis Stevenson
(1850 - 1894)

Have you heard about the herd?
It's my very favorite word.
Although you may think it absurd,
It's where I am most self-assured.

The herd admits without password.
There, pure acceptance is conferred.
Equine affection may be stirred,
And no one must be massacred.

In other crowds, where I've transferred,
It seems another is preferred.
Perhaps their vision may be blurred,
And they may realize afterward.

I tried to sing once, like a bird;
Instead of crooning, I just slurred.
So I departed, thus deterred,
To reconnect where best inferred.

And now I huddle with the herd,
By far, the best four-letter word.