BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

I lie dead and broken and crushed by the road
and the crows make a meal of my eyes
I no longer wander the trails in the bush
there's no one who mourns me or cries

And all who pass by are repulsed by the sight
and the smell that hangs on in the air
where once I was handsome and vibrant with life
my little ones now must despair

The thing I did wrong was to cross the big road
alone on a dark Summer's night
and the last thing I saw as I ran for my life
was the blazing of oncoming light

I was everything wild, I was everything free
I was lizard and emu and roo
I was betong and wombat and numbat and quoll
I was eagle and black cockatoo

So next time you see me all battered and torn
lying still under brilliant blue skies
don't see me as something grotesque and misformed
with the spark of life gone from my eyes

Look back and remember the way that I was
before my eyes dimmed in the light
and next time you travel rest up before dark
and slow down when driving at night

(c) May 2003 Written at Kununurra, Western Australia.

A ex-turtle, Bush Bay, Western Australia.

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