I’m turning nocturnal without the aid of sleep
I am beginning to see in the dark
talking snake possum wallaby echidna as they hunt in the night
so do I
micro bats dance me further into the forest as I learn what creature is moving behind me
I’m half human half wildling
my legs growing strong enough to bounce me from any danger
my hair is leaf and twig
my thoughts only instinct now
to breathe as shallow as them
to step so quietly I wont surprise even the fox
to traverse the landscapes reserved only for those never seen and be rewarded with their trusted secrets
there is good reason we take life in shifts – so the gentle ones can be kings of the darkness whilst the most destructive retreat to their beds on fire
we the gentle invisible leave nothing on dawns wake
they will not even know we moved amongst them
we fed and fooled around on their territory – sleep now you.
this is me far left with my three older siblings visiting the melbourne zoo mid 60s. it was a torturous place to be honest as much as mum and dad thought they were doing us the biggest favour. you only have to look at our faces to see how mournful we all appear staring into those horribly cramped cages to beautiful once were wild creatures trapped for our viewing pleasure. I do remember those graceful giraffes towering overhead so otherworldly but it was the lion’s anxiety that lingered with me the most. his insane pacing up and down in his tiny concrete barred enclosure left this little girl with nightmares.
But, consider these facts: 96% of the mass of mammals on our planet today are us and the livestock that we've domesticated. Only 4% is everything else, from elephants to badgers, tigers to bats. 70% of all birds are now domesticated poultry, mostly chickens. Nature once determined how we survive. Now, we determine how nature survives.- David Attenborough