Rock Wallabies

              Because of their isolation, many colonies
            of wallabies are going extinct
                                                —Sydney Morning Herald

 At dusk
I kill the truck
and scan the craggy caves
of magnetic stone
where the last rock wallabies wake alone,
long-faced and licking the drying pool of their genes.
A young buck noses the scree—
he’s a rock islander like me,
miles from other families,
avoiding foxes,
sun shy and night hungry.
I keep saying
goat farming with my dad
is enough, but every week
I drive the dusty road to town,
get drunk and thump around.
A load of seed
to launch and drown.