26/10/2026
I wrote this years ago now. It must be so terrifying for them. 😔
She lay there broken and still,
Her body at an angle where the pain was heartbreakingly visable...
They barely glanced her way, too busy checking for damage to their car,
Not a single glance or thought for their kill.
The bitumen was hard and hot, and her eyes stung both from dripping blood and attacking ants,
Her last breath was laboured yet quick, her twisted face showing the pain of leaving her joey alone with no chance.
Then those people arrived, the time wasters who scrape these vermin off our roads,
They seemed different, and determined that I did deserve a chance.....
And one took me in her hands.
I looked into strange eyes, scared and unsure, still crying for my mum,
I could still see her laying there....but to me she did not come.
Their voices were soothing,
mannerisms gentle, yet still I
longed for the warmth of mum's pouch. No more moonlit nights, no more familiar sounds or scents,
Tonight I would be fed from a bottle sitting on her lap on a couch.
It was a new and scary friendship for them both,
He was tired and drained, feeling overwhelmed in this new place,
His new mum felt the same..
yet showed a great confidence and of fear, no trace.
Each day a new triumph. Some only small, others a masterpiece,
He looked up at her now,
recognised her voice, searched her face and knew he was safe atleast.
They grew together along the way, made mistakes and new discoveries as well,
He liked the green teat best, the purple pouch (clean or dirty),
She'd slowly worked it all out....because he just couldn't tell.
Soon it was outside time away from mum, and new friends to explore,
Even though she had helped him grow, helped him to need her less each day..
That face of his she would forever adore.
He was almost as tall as her now, when the hell did that happen!
Hard to believe....
A combination of those 3 hourly feeds mixed with love,
medication and a will to succeed.
She would look at his photos many times through the years,
Recalling the day that he was finally grown and with love set free,
Never would she really know how he was in the wild,
and if his life was how she dreamed it would be....
Another small joey now sat upon her lap, looking strangely up at her,
It's ok little one, Im scared too...but together we can do this, she whispered as she stroked his fur.....
Petrina Paidel.
