In the wood that skirts the paddock when the sun is out he doze 
And he stretch and rest his 'hoppers' the marsupial 'there he goes' 
'There he goes' the English meaning for his Aboriginal name kangaroo 
The great creature from the Dreamtime the black hunter did pursue. 
 
They've been living in Australia ever since life first began 
And they've been hopping through the bush lands perhaps since the birth of man 
They'd been living and established unknown creatures without name 
When Australia was unknown Land long before the black man came. 
 
What a funny sight a mother as she goes on 'hop about' 
With her 'joey' in the warm pouch and his small head sticking out 
And as she needs to eat she must stoop and she goes into a crouch 
And her joey too nibbles grass as he reaches from her pouch. 
 
They are disliked by the farmers they eat grass meant for his sheep 
And they jump above his fences with effortless bounding leap 
But the kangaroo has been around since birth of first gum tree 
And he's a pure bred Australian and belong to this Country. 
 
In the wood that skirts the paddock when the sun is out he doze 
And he stretch and rest his hoppers the marsupial 'there he goes' 
'There he goes' the English meaning for his Aboriginal name kangaroo 
The great creature from the Dreamtime the black hunter did pursue.
Francis Duggan
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/there-he-goes-the-kangaroo/