They stood there as the daylight broke
With their face toward the rising sun,
We children hardly breathed or spoke
For the ‘roos would be sure to run.
We moved into this neighbourhood,
Our house at the end of the road,
The view of bushland where we stood
Was the place of the ‘roo abode.
And every morning without fail
We would watch for a grazing roo,
With earnest faces watched the trail
‘Twas our private outdoor zoo.
Then one fine day some people came
With stakes and construction gear,
Worked as the silent ‘roos looked on
Standing taut with an unknown fear.
Equipment came and the trees were felled
And the soil was piled in a heap,
Roos watched this while they tried to meld
And adjust to the urban creep.
Over many months from our vantage place
We would watch through the dusty murk,
The vista took a brand new face
As developers finished their work.
When turf was laid on a now quiet street,
And the land was left to settle,
The ‘roos came out at pace discreet
So their fear could test its mettle.
They grazed on turf with silent joy
And raced on the new street way,
Tossed their heads at the little boy;
They’d come with intent to stay.
Some men came back and homes were built
The ‘roos had to find new places,
Our view now was an old washed quilt
And humans replaced ‘roo faces.
Note: Australians commonly refer to kangaroos as roos.
“© Copyright Ian Grice 2012, all rights reserved”
ianscyberspace 
Who is the animal, I wonder.
Another well written poem with a taut theme.
Well done Ian.
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Nice to have you back Eric.
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Great poem sweet Ian. I don’t think enough consideration of wildlife is given before people begin building in some areas. The animals need their place too. I love wildlife and it makes me sad when I think of what mankind is doing to them.
Have a wonderful Christmas!!! Hugs
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It must be a difficult call for our governments. Rising populations mean people need to have a place to live, but in the process habitats are affected. There is a growing realization in this country that perhaps we need less living space on our properties than we have desired in the past. If we want to keep our animal populations we will have to preserve their habitats and use less space for our own needs.
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An excellent poem and post and a reminder that we share this planet with others.
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It’s hard to make the trade off between housing increasing populations and protecting the wild life habitat. Fortunately governments these days are acutely aware of the mistakes of the past and have plans to care for our obligations to wildlife.
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So sad! Esther
On Wed, Nov 7, 2012 at 1:54 PM, ianscyberspace
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This actually happened. Behind our home was all bushland and the kangaroos came up to our back fence. Now we are in the middle of a gigantic suburb.
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