Ovulation

Under the thin canopy
stringy anatomies
of black marlocks,
laterite soils shifting dryly,
they copulated in the shadow
of a spotted nightjar,
distended by a moon less than full,
echidnas trashing termite mounds
in the gully nearby.
The intensity of wildlife
in the bush remnant
passed them by—a Bailey’s
for the girl, a dozen UDLs
for the bloke; a white-striped bat
zeroed in from a salmon gum,
drawing catchphrase,
half-formed memory
of class conflict,
controversy.