ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Tale Of A Tail

© Stephen Whiteside 26.08.2011

I saw a possum tail, but I couldn't find the possum;
A brown and furry tail, with a white and curly tip.
It lay upon the tan bark underneath the wattle blossom,
And when at first I spotted it, I felt my poor heart skip.

I saw the possum screaming, and I heard the muscles tearing;
Some large, unfeeling predator was working with its teeth;
Ruthless and determined, it maintained a carefree bearing,
While the possum wriggled frantically but helplessly beneath.

It must have eaten all the bones, the guts, the furry skin,
Yet couldn't find the wherewithal to polish off the tail.
Perhaps it reached a point where nothing else would quite fit in.
Perhaps at end of day its taste buds proved a tad too frail,

Yet ox tails are quite populer, and kangaroo tails, too,
And in comparison to these, a possum tail is slight,
So why it wasn't eaten, I have not the slightest clue,
Though I must admit, I didn't want to try a single bite.

So there, I guess, you have it. It was gristly. It was bony,
And it lay there quite rejected by that fox or feral hound
Who judged that, as a piece of food, it was a total phoney -
A tail without its possum, all abandoned, on the ground.

It's a jungle out there Stephen. Well written to my knowledge. You make it look easy.

Perhaps the possum tail did not belong to a possum
but was merely a relic from a Davy Crockett hat.
Resurrected from an attic where for years it was forgotten
then again perhaps it may have just been from the neighbours cat.

Hate to think of a poor possum being torn apart Stephen - surely not ????? it would have wakened the whole neighbourhood with its cries

It is a sad thing to witness the food chain in action, but we do enjoy the cycle of life.

TTFN

Thanks, Neville.

I don't know, Maureen. The only other explanation I can think of is that possums drop their tails, like lizards, but I don't think they do, do they? I've never heard of it. Admittedly the ground was not especially scuffed up, as you would expect, but I can't think of any other explanation. I've seen possum tails lying by themselves several times now. It's not as though you can go to the supermarket and buy a dozen frozen possum tails. They're always ring tails, too, never brush tails - at least I can't remember any.

Ring tails Possums are a cute creature but the world being as it is the culprit would most likely be an frog mouth owl most likely, and both Ringtail possums and owls are nocternal and both live in your area. OR A FLAMMIN CAT

Bill Williams

Very interesting, William. Thanks. I never thought about owls, and I completely forgot about cats!

Like the poem Stephen and congratulations for having your work featured on Macca's Australia All Over radio show!

Vic Jefferies

Ah, did I, Vic? I didn't know, but I did wonder. Thanks.

Hey Bill...correct me if I'm wrong...(I'm sure someone will), a tawny frogmouth is not an owl...is that the bird you refferred to? I used to think they were too, but the owner of a bird and repltile park told me I was....barking up the wrong tree... ...if you get my drift.