The Echidna

My nutmeg friend, she wanders on
Along detritus track.
Her mottled spines, their sharp, broad lines,
She’s searching for a snack.

A monotreme like platypus,
She is so very rare.
Her searching tongue, it clings to ants,
With spines like prickly pear.

I feel a surge of tenderness
For ‘hairbrush’ on four legs.
Her slender snout protrudes right out,
She lays unearthly eggs.

Her puggle breaks free of its shell,
On mother’s milk it feeds.
Her pouch is home for several months,
Then burrow meets its needs.

Her giant claws and toothless jaw,
Her rounded raison eyes.
Her rocking body, as she walks,
Like nothing you’d recognise.

A spiky ball of preciousness,
I watch from far above.
Her lonesome journey poignant,
I cannot feel but love.