with spinifex twig plucked from thorny nest and put to the work of hands
your cherished name I did engrave, cursive, upon rippled ochre sands
of mala plain where cassia weeps and table-topped mesa commands
in rocky crevice scattered passion-seed of wildflower has fallen to rest,
biding drought and fire as seasons bring until with silver drops caressed
slender threads are woven anew, intricate silks alive and sunlight-blessed
when whistling kite has wheeled aloft toward faithful mate’s piping call
and redgum-fringed waterhole is bedded town in timeless monolith’s shadow tall
this fossil sea of dust and bone remembers you, once, forever, remembering all
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
some Australian-ish references in this poem:
spinifex – spiny grass of inland Australia
mala -a small animal of the kangaroo family, almost extinct
cassia – a kind of tree whose foliage, typical of many native flora, points toward the ground
redgum – a tree often found near rivers or waterholes