ABC News photo
The fire came so fast.
We humans barely escaped
in time by boat.
The kangaroos were trying to hop
faster than the flames.
For three long days of burning,
my heart ached, worrying.
Would anything be left?
Would the Roo Refuge survive?
And, more than that,
what of the roos themselves,
and the one I loved the most, Kanga -
my love, my partner, my soulmate
in this had little world we'd made?
Surely, I would return
to scorched earth, house and
sanctuary gone. I feared I'd find
the furry bodies of my loved ones
lying everywhere.
I told myself: if even one kangaroo
survived, I would begin again.
I returned with trepidation,
braced for what I'd find.
The house was gone,
supply quarters in ashes.
With heavy heart, I climbed the hill.
The smoke was thick, but in a clearing,
where it thinned, there he was -
Kanga, my furry love, caring for
an injured joey, standing over him,
protecting him. Waiting for help.
Waiting for me.
He knew that I would come.
And then, one by one, they all came back:
burnt paws, terrified eyes,
they came to their safe place in trust,
and we began again.
This poem was inspired by an Amazon Prime film titled The Bond, the story of a kangaroo sanctuary in Australia that came through the wildfires. The woman who created this sanctuary for roos is a senior, and amazing. The series documents inter-species friendships between humans and dolphins, cheetahs, kangaroos and goats. I loved it.
Those fires were terrible. There are many stories that have come out of them about the incredible bonds that can be formed between humans and animals. I was well away from the 2020 fires but have closer to severe ones in other years. They sear themselves into the collective Australian consciousness. Suzanne - Mapping Uncertainty
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful tale... she reminds me of Jane Goodall with the chimps... hats off to her.
ReplyDeleteI think the future could be mapped by small beautiful things like this. The juggernaut may be tearing up the firmament but as it does so, it is also carving the soil open for new seed.
ReplyDeleteThese are the people who will save the world.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sad poem, Sherry, but an inspiring one. I am glad that in the end the kangaroos lived and that the woman began again to do her wonderful work. Inspiring indeed!
ReplyDeleteThose fires in 2020 were devastating. It’s wonderful to hear how some of the kangaroos survived and found their way back to a place of safety. A beautiful person helping animals. This is an uplifting story.
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