I look far to the naked hills
Across the stony gibber plains
It's winter but the day is hot
Sharp is the focus of my sight
But clarity's now drowned by sweat
The many flies in this wilderness
Wanting shade inside my felt hat
There's no river to quench my thirst
And no breeze to cool my hot brow
First explorers hopes here were dashed
That longed to find an inland sea
They found nothing in this dead world
But they were wrong as they can be
Birds wings fluttered and creatures crawled
Where men so often fear to tread
Emus, Kites, Gibberbirds, Dingos too
You'll find them stalking for smaller prey
Geckos, desert mice and snakes galore
Humans too when they've lost their way
Image top found at www.travelling-australia.com
Image bottom found at www.jenniferspryausbirding.blogspot.com
An experience to find your way across the desert... Maybe you can trace your way with songlines.. If not an inland sea, at least some water could have been found.
ReplyDeleteI looked up gibberbird and now I wish I could be there in that desert to see it...
ReplyDeleteI love your poem of wilderness :)
ReplyDeleteYou bring back memories - but luckily I didn't get lost out there.
ReplyDeleteAh, there is so much living in the desert, but it takes special eyes to see these creatures. I think they have to be among the smartest creatures to survive that kind of climate.
ReplyDeleteThis is the place of nightmares for sure...and love the phrase gibber plains...
ReplyDeleteyou've beautifully described another face of our Mother Earth...rough, dry and yet full of life....
ReplyDeleteHumankind is just as vulnerable when the chips are down. Our mental capacity and strength are of no match when physical strength of lesser animals use their given strength and prowess against us! The environment does not offer much protection either given the circumstances!
ReplyDeleteHank
you paint the arid barren new earth very vividly
ReplyDeletethis line for me resonates your theme sharply
"First explorers hopes here were dashed"
have a good Sunday
much love...
The nearest thing to a wilderness I've got is the local park where the explorers are screaming kids, the creatures are barking dogs and the birds are shrieking seagulls. Today it's cold, very cold. It could be worse though I guess!
ReplyDeleteVisit Keith's Ramblings!
An great word picture of the wild
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this post with its wonderful descriptions of the "gibber plains", and the revelation of all the wildlife that survives there. Enjoyed every word and line. And the photos!
ReplyDeleteThe 'cradle of creation' your wilderness where any creature will be tested and survival is for the strong and fit....fabulous images and descriptions of this wilderness, Robin.
ReplyDeleteEven though it doesn't seem possible, there is even life - living and dying, feeding and being fed. I looked up gibber plains and gibber birds. Intriguing! and yet, all of these have their unique beauty and it takes a special eye to see it.
ReplyDeleteFabulous sense of the life that exists here--beautifully drawn, every word of it
ReplyDeleteWonderful descriptions,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
You have created such a credible sense of place in this poem. Stark reality and imagery.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wildlife adventure....an expansive place of barren wonder.
ReplyDeleteEven in the desert there is life ...I had to look up the bird as I was unfamiliar with it so, I thank you for sharing this poem. I would say you have to be a survivalist to live on these plains.
ReplyDeleteWhat a memorable rendering ... a description of the outback that reads, somewhat, like a compelling narrative - historical to in-the-moment. Really well done!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely images in this tale of pioneers and survivors.
ReplyDeletethanks for this peep into the outback. :)
ReplyDeleteYou took us a journey today.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful ie full of wonders. You took me there.
ReplyDeletePlease, what is gibber - apart from what I do when I'm angry?
Gibber the name for these stony deserts probably comes from aboriginal origins meaning stony (I think) where the dirt and smaller particles have been washed away thousands of years ago.
DeleteOh so good to see what is truely there!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of our own Great Karoo. Not to get lost in, for sure. Look at http://sitespecific.org.za/karoo-geoglyph/
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the exploration of life at your hot place, esp. liked the conclusion about people, belonging to all above....
ReplyDeleteVery strong use of the words, for sure; down under & dirty; very graphic & realistic. I spent 4 months in Australia in 1977; never did get used to the flies. Outback can be a rich montage, if one has native eyes.
ReplyDeletelove the outback...spent a few years traveling from one side to the other and then south to north... i do remember the flies... the worse ever..!!!! but the outback... what a wonderful place... what a wonderful adventure.... we always wore netting with cork weights over our hats... kept the flies out... yep and the heat.....
ReplyDeleteThis is so far from my reality .. a wonderful vision, frightening the idea of being lost there ... you've brought the whole area alive in your moving poem .. Bastet
ReplyDeleteYou bring back vivid memories of driving through the Gibber Plain on the way to Darwin in 1977. That was a rare year of good rains in the desert. We saw flowers, waterholes, lots if birds ...
ReplyDelete(I think I lost a previous, incomplete attempt at this comment into the ether somewhere. If it tuns up, please delete.)