WRITING

Merri Creek, Wurundjeri Country



Golden brown depths with

purple bruises

Creamy white swirls with

rainbow highlights

Like a spill of petrol catching the light

it glows and glitters in the sun

Gum tree is flooded

it’s leaves are hanging low

Touching fingertips with the reeds

tall and thin and overlapping

Casting shadows and adding layers



the creek is not mine

Berringa, Wadawurrung Country



the slow movement of leaves

almost static panorama

but for a magpie flitting across the view

I am part of

the sound of whirring wings



words fall like light rain

leaving their kiss on the ground

soaking back in

from where they came



I try to be humble before the gums

the kookaburra chorus

remember my place

sending out the smallest ripples



I try not to

reflect myself onto the land

see it as reliable, repetitive

with all its grey running lines



if I look long enough

could I lose myself

where I am from



birthed from the earth

calling this land home

though it’s not my own



to soak in, to fade away

to the damp dirt, the misted sky



to give my life to listening



so many ways of knowing

I want to hear the simplest truth



the wind asks me to wait

the quiet is everything




Audio recording for ‘Berringa, Wadawurrung Country’ made with the support of the Footscray Community Arts Centre