The Tjuntjun cat is a lonely cat,
and possibly,
the only cat
in Tjuntjuntjara.
For Tjuntjun is a dog town.
Not a mog town.
It’s the top dog town,
for miles around.
Even the coolest cat
will not be found
upon this doggone red hot ground
they call
Tjuntjuntjara.
Except this cat.
This Tjuntjun cat is a courageous cat,
a cautious, trepidatious cat.
For it is disadvantageous
to even be a cat
in Tjuntjuntjara.
In Tjuntjun it’s dogs that rule the roost.
They roam the streets,
play fast and loose
with the lives of any creature,
great or small,
that’s not a dog.
The Tjuntjun cat
must keep its cats eyes peeled.
It’s a battlefield
where every day
you’re a whisker away
from Death by Dog.
But this brave moggie’s
gonna make real sure
it don’t end up
as the plate du jour
at the Desert Dog Café.
No, the Tjuntjun cat
won’t be seen cat-nappin
while the Tjuntjun dogs
are out cat-trappin.
There can be no catnaps
til the cat-flap’s flappin
and the Tjuntjun cat’s
curled up on its cushion,
dreamin its dream
of revolution
in the alleyway.
When every pet
when every stray
when every cat’s
gonna have its day. . .
. . . in Tjuntjuntjara.
Tjuntjuntjara (sounds quite like Joon-Joon-Jarra) is a remote Aboriginal community in the Great Victoria Desert region of Western Australia (Photo: Stewart Ennis)
Australian Children’s Poetry 