ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

The Northern Brush-Tailed Phascogale

The northern brush-tailed phascogale
Is best known for its brushy tail.
Its eyes are black. Its feet are pale.
The female lives three years. The male
Only lives for one. (They’re frail.)
Cats and cane toads likely ail
The welfare of the phascogale.
We try in part, but largely fail
To save the fading phascogale.
Though we might search both hill and dale,
We’ll sadly mostly find the trail
Is cold. It’s very hard to nail
The status of the phascogale.
Now, you might rant and you might rail
Frustratedly, and try to bail
The phascogale out of this gale
Of threats that make for it a gaol.
While I’d applause and greatly hail
Your work to save the phascogale,
They’re needed on so large a scale
That in the end, they’ll likely fail.
It’s right to weep. It’s right to wail.
It is a sad and sorry tale
That leaves you feeling sad and stale…
The northern brush-tailed phascogale.

© Stephen Whiteside 30.05.2018

I like that one Stephen. It has a good balance of information and an appeal for understanding and action.

As I understand it, if things like Christmas beetles are not controlled, the trees can fail from die back. Control of the beetles depends on
the activities of animals like tree dwelling mammals. everything depends on everything else.

Yes, me too Stephen. Totally agree with Neville on this and love the way the rhythm and rhyme combines so easily to bring the message

Thanks, Neville and Catherine. I was talking to a fellow folk club member last night. Somehow the subject of phascogales came up as we were walking to our cars to go home. He told me a musician friend of his had written a tune called "Phascogale in the Freezer". Apparently this musician's father was a naturalist or wildlife researcher. He had found a dead phascogale in the bush, wrapped it in newspaper and put it in the family freezer before taking it to work to study. His son had grabbed some meat from the freezer, and ended up with the phascogale! We agreed it is a great word, and I thought I'd have a crack at writing a poem about it. I've tried writing quite a few poems about Australia's threatened native wildlife, but it's not that easy. Both the dunnart and the numbat never left the drawing board. I've had much more like with the quoll.

I remember now how it came up. I had recited my Doona poem about the moon's apogee at the meeting, and that got us looking at the moon. He mentioned how difficult small creatures like phascogales are to sight during a full moon, because they are afraid it will make them easier for owls and other birds of prey to spot. One thing leads to another, from doonas to phascogales...

This is great, Stephen! You are on a roll and I think this is another poem that is a great education tool for our kids. It's fun yet it has a sobering message.

I wrote a short one about the bilby a while back, but like you, my good intentions to cover the spectrum of endangered species hit a brick wall from there! So many projects - so little time (sigh).

Cheers
Shelley

Yes, a bilby in a trilby was about as far as that one went. No easier than dunnart. Quokka and pademelon are also difficult.

So is antechinus.