Dingo poem by Carramar girl wins national award

FIVE-YEAR-OLD Esha Jabbal (pictured) has become the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious Dorothea Mackellar National Poetry Competition.

The St Stephen’s School pre-primary student’s poem Dingo was judged the best in Australia in the lower primary (kindergarten to Year 2) division.

“It was so exciting to receive the award,” Esha said. “I love dingoes and poetry.”

Esha, whose family migrated to Australia from Kenya in 1996, has type 1 diabetes but has never let the chronic illness hold her back as she takes the constant monitoring and challenges in her stride.

As an animal lover who wants to have a dog, it was not surprising she chose to write about the indigenous Australian canine.

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Esha’s teacher Sandra Corcoran said Esha was excited about dingoes and had been learning about them for weeks.

“When Esha told me what her poem was going to be about I thought she would produce something special,” she said.

Esha and her father were flown to Gunnedah, NSW for the award ceremony where she received a trophy, a cash prize and a collection of books for the school library.

Dingo

by Esha Jabbal

Gold and white dingo running in the wild

Through the bush and across the desert

Jumping over fallen logs, under the hot sun

Shining down on Australia.

Wild dingo, skinny dingo, panting dingo,

Running under the sun, looking for food,

Snakes and lizards, joeys and dead birds,

He jumps on little animals and

Eats them up, they taste good!

Wild dingo, little bit fat dingo,

‘Cause he’s got food in his tummy,

Lies down under the gum tree

To cool down and rest.

Dingo.