Thousands of megalitres
of silted tidal surge flow in / out
between the forested mountains
and the protected bay of islands.
Old brown stained rock walls
still hold the river banks today.
Tribute to the labor of once
wearied, hungry convicts!
The river once carried wooden
sailing ships delivering supplies
to isolated families gambling
on a new life in a new home.
As the river flowed then,
descended from the Dreamtime
the first people, the caretakers
danced and told stories.
The upper river - wallabies,
koalas, goannas, lush forest.
At the mouth - kangaroos,
flathead, casuarina trees.
Now I cross the river in
fiberglass ferries.
I go shopping in an engineered,
concrete labyrinth.
I have coffee in a quiet cafe,
near the river on the weekend.
I cross paths with thousands
from diverse backgrounds.
Brisbane has become -
Multicultural, multi-lingual, modern.
Mild mornings in winter
Hot, humid nights in summer.
Very true, Brook. We tread on a million corpses. That is toll we take on the advance of so called civilisation.
And being able to see time pass over an area/land humbles us in the flow of time I find. Thanks for this, I have only been "down under " once but the animals you mentioned are vivid in my memory.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
i have been to brisbane i remember a kid reel in a biggest river catfish i ever saw that was so many years ago.