Neville Oddie
(1)
Way up there in Kakadu
An ant-lion builds a trap for you
A small inverted cone of sand
Carefully built and carefully planned
The hunter quietly lies in wait
The victim does not know its fate
Once up the slope and cross the rim
The end is clear – the chances slim
There at last the jaws of death
A final prayer – a final breath
A rain storm comes and washes clean
The trap is gone – it’s never been
Nothing lasts and not forever
The ant-lion though is very clever
Way up there in Kakadu
An ant-lion builds a trap for you
(2)
The sun moth does not have a need
For mouthparts or a place to feed
Its role in life?
To find a wife
And rest a moment just to breed
(3)
All in all life’s short
Briefly we come and then leave
Memories remain
(4)
Here and …….
(5)
Gone
Neville Oddie has a large farm at Mt Emu but is a frequent visitor to Daylesford. This poem was written for the Mollongghip Poetry Slam in 2019.
