Sixtieth At Womadelaide Poem by Roy Lee

It has been harder to find you lately
Yet I seek you every day.

But, I knew that you would be here
Lying on a blue rug with me
Staring up between a pepper tree
To an autumn blue Adelaide sky
Our symphonic souls entwined
Shaking and dancing with music.

Friends are laughing and drinking
Offering crackers and Camembert
But, the wine and cheese explode
Sweet and strong and matured,
Memories in mouth and mind.

We wandered in these botanic grounds
Absorbing each act at each stage
Sometimes it would be so hot
Even notes of music would sweat
So we would run under the sprinklers
Bathing to the beat and the heat

The kids would roam and race freely.
Scrambling facepaint and feathers
They scream up into the trees
Climbing higher as if they can
Escape from dry dirt and ashes.

I dutifully queued to buy a CD
And dutifully I queued for her to sign it
But she saw that I was with you
And fearfully she hurried us away

Some nights we sat at the peripheral stages
When the lyrics quietly caressed us
Like the breeze through the gums and pines
And I would lie with my head on your lap
Massaged by the silent sounds around

But, tonight, under a mist of moths
Caught by a web of lights
Where between our feet our infant sleeps
And the music permeates and rocks
We dance delicately around him
And you invite me into your embrace.


(March 2011)