The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Mini-moles

Northern marsupial moles
are part of the Kingdom Mammalia.
They burrow without leaving holes
in the deserts of western Australia.

These moles live where temperatures boil,
so they tunnel and graze underground—
munching bugs they uncover from soil
as they navigate only by sound.

Related to large kangaroos,
they don’t jump, but they swim through the sand.
They emerge above ground when they choose.
Hard to spot, they can fit in your hand.

About the Writer


Helen Kemp Zax

Helen Kemp Zax loves to write poetry, especially poems that rhyme. Her debut picture book Little Witch’s To-Do List will be published by Abrams Appleseed in 2025. She is co-winner of the 2021 YorkMix International Children’s Poetry Prize, the 2018 MG Katherine Paterson Prize winner, and a 2019 Finalist. Helen's poetry appears in anthologies like The Sea’s Song and Chasing Clouds and in magazines like The Caterpillar. She lives in Washington, D. C. with her husband and their crazy Aussie-doodle Huckleberry Finn.