Kangaroo
she
had not even tried to move her bony white
body into the clover that had come after
rain it
was the old mother who had been hanging around
with the joey why do you think she came
in so
close
to the house to die was she lonely?
as if a
kangaroo doesnt get lonely like us apart
or
together we two lonely people was
it something
inside her that brought her to the gate of
the small
cottage? picture our small cottage our place
of
loneliness of togetherness a dot out
in the frosty
fields even we were cold cold as taps
the water
iced up in the pipes the guttering stretching
itself
a
long and creaking stretch a cats old back
arching railways sleepers big highways
this
relief from ice all the night when
the ice was
endless dark like we had forgotten everything
a
relief
from clear winter skies stars so many stars
and not a kangaroo amongst them we were
cold
as her dying as though the winter sky was
shining
its icy stars down through the roof she
didnt
move
far on her last night she didnt need to
a
greater movement was occurring within her the
birds took her eyes all the birds not
long after
dawn with the sun came the scavengers the
farm
does
not waste it utilizes everything deliciously
a
strip of flesh was dragged from her mouth she
was
cold stone dead so soft this
ancient departure
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