Inhaling air, pungent with
burning “grass tree” scent, my
young eyes look again to the gully,
at fires glowing bright in
evening shadow;
breaking the close gloom
of deepening night.

Surrounding gum trees
hardly visible, give
a sense of being taller and
almost oppressive,
a “mo-poke” bird hoots its call …..
“mo-poke, ….mo-poke”,
eerily it sounds in the dark.

I recall the bright day,
sun’s heat rising gum-leaf perfume,
as my father pick axed
black grass-tree stumps out
from the ground,
stacking them into piles
ready to be ignited.

These loved smells, unique
of my country, are to my heart
like a national anthem.
Warm air carrying
chorused song of crickets
cheers my enjoyment, increasing
my pleasure of nature’s wonder…

Beauty of parrots in the tree tops,
to warbling magpies and
twittering insect eaters,
the light clouds of dust rising
from dry gravelly ground, as I
climb amongst logs and scrub,
studying an insect or a dry hard
glob of red-gum clinging to knobby
fibre- prickled bark.

The closure of day brings a sadness
as I look at the burning stumps,
but inwardly hugging myself
with comforting thoughts of
my waiting meal and being tucked up
safe in my warm bed, sends me scurrying
to beat my brother to the bathroom.

1/2001

10/06/2001

Posted on 10/05/2001
Copyright © 2024 Audrey M Scott