Saturday, August 16, 2003
Poems composed on the way back from Uluru (scribbled onto the bus window in whiteboard marker - very public poetry writing - therefore forgive the mass appeal element!)
Ballad of the Red Centre
To their land we came as guests
Though each of us had different quests
Clouds swept with us along the plain
To our surprise we brought the rain
With sun's respite we climbed the earth
O'er which the name of Kings was writ
Creation scenes to us were told
As through the chasm our eyes strolled
On to the land where songlines meet
But rain and thunder still did greet
And though our campfire tried to die
Deep in our swags we snuggled dry
With sacrifice, and early start
At last we reached the hallowed heart
Uluru - glistening like a jewel
Its many secrets left to tell
And so we found the last of three
Its mango clusters rising free
Kata Tjuta , most mysterious
Sandstone towers wreathed in silence
So now we start the long road home
For some the path will lead them on
As many nations share a beer
For Matt and Lena, give a cheer!
And for the subsequent international poetry competition my effort inspired.... (the prize being beer, of course)
Outback Caution
The land of Oz is red and wide
Within it, many hazards hide
From sunrise morn till end of day
Tourists should be much afraid
Hoop snakes stalk their human prey
With fangs as sharp as spoons (some say)
As quarry fill their pants in fear
They'll roll into a hoop, and sneer
Those with tjukurpa don't fear
But worst by far are fat Drop Bears
As unsuspecting tourists walk
Under branches, down they drop!
In breeding season, do take fright
At bulls that dance to Barry White
When lovelorn bovines threaten you
Just play a tune on your didgeridoo.
I'll mention here the kangaroos
That work as outback postal crews
When you want to post a letter
Slip one in their pouch, it'll get there!
So heed my cautionary stories
Or you won't last your Aussie journeys
And if you thought one word I spoke
Was true, l'll confess, 'twas a joke!
(for the record.... the challenge here was to write, in about 15 mins in a darkened bouncing minibus with loud music going, a poem containing the words Didgeridoo, sunrise and Tjukurpa(Aboriginal word meaning connection to the land). For a bus filled with Italians, Germans, and Spaniards, the yield of literary efforts in English was impressive. Though the prize was won by an English lad who rhymed "Tjukurpa" with "cuppa".)
My own effort, in case you're wondering, exposes the many Aussie "legends" told to gullible tourists. I fondly remember the one about postal kangaroos had some fellow travellers from the States and UK enthralled for days while I was travelling on the TransMongolian several years ago. 
Piokiwi 1:24 am
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