I wrote this for my little nephew Mace who was at the stage of asking why (a lot!) when I left for Macca.
There is an island somewhere in the Southern Ocean teeming with life they say,
I begin to imagine how magical it would be if I made it there one day.
The wildlife they say is so abundant you will find beaches packed full of penguins,
And seals are the size of mini trucks, just imagine the ‘beach masters’ Armageddon!
But penguins are not the only bird that reside in this magical place,
There are mighty skuas, dashing terns and shy petrels plus the elusive albatross I can’t wait to face
The weather they say is relentless and hectic; with wild winds and rain most days of the year,
My eyes widen with delight as I jump up from my seat “I love rain!” I loudly cheer.
They call it the 'green sponge' which sends my mind spinning; I’m not sure what you mean by that?
“When you go there you will see for yourself” says my friend cheekily grinning like a Cheshire cat
To get to this island you first have to jump through a series of different corporate hoops,
From medicals to psych testing and job interviews, you are examined by all sorts of suit-wearing troops.
Then throw in a global pandemic that is spreading chaos all over the globe,
But not even a deadly Corona could stop me as I presented my nose for an unpleasant deep probe
Now it’s been a few months of island life and the magic is revealing itself in many ways,
I pinch myself when meeting a seal on the isthmus –I can’t believe that I get this for 365 days!!
I wish I could introduce you to Lilly, the cutest little elephant seal who helped me gather weather data,
As she snoozed by my enclosure and glanced up from time to time, geez was she one epic farter!
Then I met Jackson one dark night, the Antarctic fur seal who believes he belongs to the British House of Lords,
All he needed was a smoke pipe, a monocle and a bowler-hat; he sure gets the ‘best poser’ award!
Now the story of Edward the King is not nearly as nice or pleasant – and a warning this does end badly,
For Edward turned hangry and grew tired of waiting… abandoning his egg one day sadly
That’s the one aspect of the magic that I am learning to live with and one I must accept overtime,
Nature is not always bold and beautiful, there is death and blood or occasionally an open intestine!
But alas, that is life on this island and our presence here certainly plays an important role,
To observe, study and protect all the magic that resides within her beautiful soul.
To my little nephew Mace your aunty loves you so, I look foward to seeing you grow.
Ok now I have lots of work to do, so goodbye from Layla and your friendly neighbourhood Macca Crew.
