a grief of ghosts
atlas bear
black-footed ferret
cape lion
dire wolf
eastern lowland gorilla
foothill frog
galápagos penguin
heath hen
irish elk
japanese otter
kākāpo
laughing owl
maui dolphin
north atlantic right whale
one-stripe opossum
painted vulture
quagga
red-fronted macaw
sumatran elephant
tasmanian devil
upland moa
vaquita
western black rhino
xerces blue butterfly
yangtze porpoise
and no longer
padding the drum
of the earth
zanzibar leopard
Cindy Botha was born and raised in Africa and now lives in New Zealand. Her poems appear in magazines and anthologies in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and USA.