Young son Ned
And his parents inked
The Treaty of Ned's Room,
Wherein Ned was given sovereignty
Over his room...a no-go zone...
In exchange for keeping it kempt.
But four times a year
His parents could open the door a crack
To let in a trained treaty canary 
For a one-minute medical fly-around
With test strips affixed to its legs
To measure oxygen levels and toxic mold.
After a minute the canary was trained
To tap with its beak on the door
To be let out.
Only this canary,
Like many coal mine canaries, never tapped
And was found several minutes later, unresponsive..
Toes to the ceiling...
Well beyond resuscitation.
Word travels fast in the canary community,
So no other volunteers came forward 
To fly into Ned's room.
The treaty became then null and void...
A predictable loss for bi-lateral family negotiations.