blue-tongue lizard

I used to see all kinds of frogs in our garden as a child,
But they all went when the nearby swamp was drained completely dry,
The local horses disappeared when vacant blocks were sold
And working horses pulling carts all went away we’re told.

Poem - Our Lizard

My world is all the animals I meet both fenced and free,
When they are gone, all ploughed to dust, what will be left of me?
Now rarely glimpsed peripherally at night upon a wire,
Or soaring, graceful overhead in the night sky even higher,

I used to see all kinds of frogs in our garden as a child,
But they all went when the nearby swamp was drained completely dry,
The local horses disappeared when vacant blocks were sold
And working horses pulling carts all went away we’re told.

On Sunday drives it wasn’t far to see the grazing cows
And at my school the bush was home to harlequin bugs and flowers,
We found a possum, took it home not knowing it was wrong.
Our parents took it back again to join its family throng.

One day I found a lizard, cut deeply through his scales
I took him home all wrapped and warm to mend his little tail,
His blue tongue flicked
As he wriggled and kicked

But we slapped a bandage on him
We kept him for a time it seemed but God knows what we fed him.
The day arrived to set him free, he seemed quite well we thought
But not a pet to live his life far from others of his sort.

Quite close to home a sanctuary seemed the best solution.
We took him there and let him loose with bandage medication
His shapely legs with grateful ease in graceful coordination
took him away to live his life in carefree liberation