Grass, long grass, spear grass,
Prickly seeds pierce my feet,
My legs, my buttocks.
Ticks, mosquitos, spiders and snakes,
Five-inch “toe-biter” insect,
A giant water bug with pincers!
And a Queensland bird-eating spider.
Sleeping-bag entered slowly!
Moonlit nights, shooting stars,
Southern Cross, crick in neck.
Misty mornings, clenched-fist sun
Then extending fingers, feeling their way
through gumtrees lining the gates of dawn.
Sunday morning bush-worship-service,
God honoured, His Word read,
Proclaimed and applied,
His congregation blessed. Amen!
Packed pack is on my back,
Face set for home,
About to decamp when “ratatatat”,
Enemy with bad-timing and poor manners,
Departure delayed, but dust settles,
Soon I’m off and running!
Nine hours travelling by bus,
Air-con broken, thirty degrees outside,
Steamed-up windows! Is the heater on?
At last, civilization, elation,
McDonalds and a coffee? Yes please!
Back on bus, Kindle reading, day-dreaming,
Sugarcane on the left, cattle on the right,
Hot bitumen underneath,
Gumtrees flashing by,
Hills rolling away into the distance,
Pastel clouds on sky-blue sky,
Sun sparkling on a river
As we speed across a bridge,
A lonely kingfisher stares
Into the clear water from a log.
Well irrigated orchard, all lush and green,
Mangoes, oranges, then fields of pineapples.
A crow pecks at some roadkill,
As cars, caravans and trucks
Flash into then out of view.
Going home, wife, daughters
Grandchildren, comfy chair,
Shower, Guinness, clean sheets.