Wilabalangaloo. ... Maureen Clifford © The #ScribblyBark Poet
If you ever go down the Murray
stop at Wilabalangaloo.
it's just on the outskirts of Berri -
where the blue leaved mallee lives too,
sharing wilderness space with rare bird species,
the small blue wrens and Cockatoo,
there's so much to see, a day's not enough
to view Wilabalangaloo..
The smell of the Jasmine is so sweet
out at Wilabalangaloo.
Sit quiet - hear the patter of small feet
and the thump of the kangaroo.
You can marvel all day at red sandstone cliffs
as so many day-trippers do,
and wonder if black men once wore the red
soil from Wilabalangaloo.
The Murray River flows, creeping slow
lazy Wilabalangaloo.
White clouds reflect in water below
and a Cormorant sits askew.
This place, named for yellow and red and brown stones -
Desert cassia, appeals to
a hungry Thornbill in the bright sunshine
feeds at Wilabalangaloo.
Ajuga Australis lifts its head
there at Wilabalangaloo.
Offers purple blossoms to the sun
'neath the sky of deep cobalt blue.
The honeybees gather - its nectar to sup
and sip at a globule of dew
captured in its throat - a sparkling jewel
gem of Wilabalangaloo.
A tree with flood levels clearly marked
leans at Wilabalangaloo
and its gnarled roots writhe at its base
as tortured souls are known to do.
In the seventeen ninety floods we can see
it rose sixteen metres - it's true,
Swallows now nest where the flood waters were
once at Wilabalangaloo
Step back in time - come visit this place
here at Wilabalangaloo
sense the spirit of the ancient ones
a feeling of deja vu,
as you stand and gaze from a towering cliff
and absorb the beautiful view.
a native moorhen with her young appears...
a young queen with her retinue
Wilabalangaloo.
- Maureen K Clifford
- Posts: 8066
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:31 am
- Location: Ipswich - Paul Pisasale country and home of the Ipswich Poetry Feast
- Contact:
Wilabalangaloo.
Check out The Scribbly Bark Poets blog site here -
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/
I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/
I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.
- Shelley Hansen
- Posts: 2224
- Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 5:39 pm
- Location: Maryborough, Queensland
- Contact:
Re: Wilabalangaloo.
Hi Maureen
I haven't been to Wilabalangaloo ... but it's now on my bucket list!!
Love the "queen and retinue" metaphor for the moorhens - I can just picture it!!
Cheers
Shelley
I haven't been to Wilabalangaloo ... but it's now on my bucket list!!
Love the "queen and retinue" metaphor for the moorhens - I can just picture it!!
Cheers
Shelley
Shelley Hansen
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com
"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")
Lady of Lines
http://www.shelleyhansen.com
"Look fer yer profits in the 'earts o' friends,
fer 'atin' never paid no dividends."
(CJ Dennis "The Mooch o' Life")
- Maureen K Clifford
- Posts: 8066
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:31 am
- Location: Ipswich - Paul Pisasale country and home of the Ipswich Poetry Feast
- Contact:
Re: Wilabalangaloo.
Thank you Shelley - I was inspired to that line by a picture on the tourist website I've never actually been there myself.
Check out The Scribbly Bark Poets blog site here -
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/
I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/
I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.
- thestoryteller
- Posts: 625
- Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2010 3:02 pm
- Location: Bargara, Queensland.
- Contact:
Re: Wilabalangaloo.
There's an awful lot of Australia many folk never get to see Maureen.
So thanks for introducing it to us in verse.
Link is interesting.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/places ... o-reserve/
So thanks for introducing it to us in verse.
Link is interesting.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.au/places ... o-reserve/
Some days your the pidgeon and other days the statue.
- Maureen K Clifford
- Posts: 8066
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 10:31 am
- Location: Ipswich - Paul Pisasale country and home of the Ipswich Poetry Feast
- Contact:
Re: Wilabalangaloo.
Looks beautiful doesn't it - but then so much of our country is - just a shame that travelling in it is so costly.
Check out The Scribbly Bark Poets blog site here -
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/
I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.
http://scribblybarkpoetry.blogspot.com.au/
I may not always succeed in making a difference, but I will go to my grave knowing I at least tried.