Description
‘Playing Possum: Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis’ by artist/author Tina Wilson
Limited Edition Print: Watercolour painting on Arches Aquarelle
Evenings in the Northern Rivers spring to life with night-time creatures, many being key pollinators. The Squirrel Glider is often seen in eucalypt, wattle and acacia trees feeding on the pollen, nectar and sap. Using the membranes of skin stretching between their front and back legs they glide through the canopies from tree to tree, sometimes up to 100m, spreading pollen as they travel.
Playing Possum
Playing possum night-time rules
furred bodies nestle
in hollowed trees
awaiting light
to recede
And recede it does.
Moon round eyes enquire the night
searching for food
and companions
and life
to call
And call it does.
Membranous skin stretches
between fore and hind legs
and a tiny body
leaps
in to green air
And glide it does.
Through the moon glistening trees
and above dappled earth
it searches for blossoms
and sap
Poem by Tina Wilson
Original artwork purchased for the Kingscliff Hospital palliative care ward.
