Olinda At Night Poem by Francis Duggan

When shades of night cloak the forest at Olinda the silence is almost profound
Though the cry of the owl known as boobook can be heard for acres around
And the hissing like calls of the brush tail possum as he proclaims his territory
By day his kind they are not seen out they rest in a hole in a tree.

The soughing of the wind in the tall gums that look ghostly in the moonlight
'Tis like walking in another World to walk in Olinda at night
Such images as the artist try to capture on canvas the poet about it does write
In the Yarra Ranges after nightfall one can sense the peace and the quiet.

Utopia cannot be any different to Olinda after nightfall
My walks in the forest in the moonlight are memories I will always recall
with a sense of nostalgia and fondness for the high woods from here far away
When the little frogs sing in the pondlets they are seldom heard in the day.

When shades of night cover Olinda and all day creatures are at rest
The small dark brown ring tail possums they venture from their leafy nest
My walks in the forest after nightfall so fresh in my memory remain
And such memories last a whole lifetime and till our end them we'll retain.