Mummy Dear Poem by Francis Duggan

Each evening just after nightfall on the rooftop her i hear
A big female brush tail possum i call her Mummy dear
With her baby clinging to her back a creature of cat size
Walking across the galvanize iron she makes a lot of noise.

To the tip of gum tree that over hang the roof with vice like claws she cling
And with one powerful thrust upwards on to the branch she spring
I often shine my torch on them and four eyes i can see
The possum and her baby gazing down from branch of tree.

Some people do not like possums in the ceiling of their house
For a possum many times bigger than a rat or a mouse
In the ceiling they do damage and they are not welcome guests
And whilst some do tolerate them others look on them as pests.

On the rooftop just after nightfall with her baby on her back
A big gray female possum her long tail bushy and black
The one that i call Mummy dear she makes a lot of noise
As she trudges rather heavily across the galvanize