People belong to the desert

Dusting of my archives, I have prose stories of Australia

Beyond the sand hills there is a legend
Epic though it might be
A legend from time gone by
My mind is full of tales to tell

The desert is hot, red hot, sometimes hostile
Since time began, it has not changed
Some have tried to conquer the desert
The desert of Australia seems real
But to some dreamtime planned
The unreality of the desert
It can play tricks on your mind

The noonday sun of the desert, is so hot
It's hard to find shade, the air is hot and still
Yet there is a hush about the desert
Waiting patiently is the desert, to compel you
To it's heart, camp in the shade if you can
Watch the sun compel you to draw

The fire of the sun can change swiftly, gathering wind
Will change the shape of the desert
A night spent in the desert will send chills across your body
Listen and feel the legends created in the air
From those who walked the desert before you
Those who have lived in this land from old
Search and you may find a footprint

Where water is found, you may find people
Wanderers of this land, moving all year
From when time began
They know how to live on this land
Since time began
Don't be frightened, they know the water holes
For they return each year
In times of drought, which is often
They will return to conserve
Cross the desert of Australia
You will find a beauty, to behold
These nomads have crossed the desert
Since the millennium began
Nomads of this land belong

Many tribes follow this country
Tribes don't encroach on another's land
They meet often on the horizons
Only known to them
They warn others of dangers
Across the outback

Life has taken these warriors
Across many lands, from the day of birth
Followed, happiness, and tears of sorrow
Stories flow of his days on earth
This land Australia, follows hardships
Joy and laughter, from the indigenous
To the white fella
Where the desert is a legend
Beyond the sand hills
Epic though it might be
A legend from time gone by

A sky so perfect, blue as far as the eye can see
Tales unfold from the magic of your mind
In the desert, by day
The sands are never cold
By night, the air will freeze you

Wanderers at sundown
Appear, waiting watching
For us intruders to evolve
Disappear, even fade
They never trust an intruder

Across the night sky
Yellow, red, orange, black
All the colours of the night
The wanderers follow the stars

From where the desert begins
Magical shrubs and flowers grow
Birds flourish in the branches nesting
Ants the size of an inch, snakes
Insects and lizards, lay quietly
Waiting for intruders

Ever changing sandhills,
Swept by the desert winds
Twisters in the sky, gathering
Anything in its way

Dingo's emu's and eagles
Keep a wary eye for intruders
The silence of the desert
Spreads so endless a story
From the plains echoes
Voices across an early morning

The daylight brings an early day
Stories of this timeless land
Yet silent, see hear and feel
This silent land, stories of
Song and dance, in the movement of the body
Life the way it used to be
Silent before the world
Had known wars
Before it was written
Life was protected
Deep in mystery
Across the Australian Outback

I saw them in the distance
Sitting beside the bulrushes
Wandering about the land
In silence watching, waiting
Offer them a hand in kindness

Seldom fleeting moments
Dreams of a silent wanderer
They would melt into the hazy horizon
As if they were never there
Silently watching you may feel
As if you were intruding on their time
You can leave a gift
When you leave the desert
They would be waiting for you to leave
They belonged, to the desert
They knew the land, it was theirs
And theirs alone, the pioneers
That crossed the desert, left so many disasters
Many have walked the desert, lost
Vanished across the desert, never to be found

The Australian desert
A landscape never forgotten
The proud Aboriginal people
That belong to the desert

Deserve this story
Know the trials and joy of the desert
Before you try and cross
As many do today
The land of where the sandhills
Change each day in the wind

(c)bj

Reviews

[Einstein Noodle]

your love for the "outback" and its history of peoples, earth and animals comes across loud and clear .. makes me want to wander there a spell ;) nice closing lines
E.

[B.J]

I do love Australia, it's history, all animals of our country. It is a great country to wander.