Her heartbeat accelerated as she began to prevail,
Mother nature groaned and moaned before the earth could fail,
Bush-fires had seared the fauna and flora of earth,
Now her actions would cause a fertile rebirth.
Out of ashes, dust, filth, grime,
Green shoots were birthed in the unseasoned clime,
Torn between anguish, bitterness, pain,
Generations of one family, had hope once again.
They’d battled drought, overdrafts, now there’s fire,
Work was their opiate, a pressing desire,
Struggling, tossing doubts aside,
They’d plough the burnt land with fierce Aussie pride.
Back-breaking work, yet the horrors would go,
In their place, green things would grow,
Red skies streaked above the flame scorched land,
Screams echoed from anxiety stricken man,
These were jubilant, the elements changed,
Thunderstorms burst on the arid plain.
Hilda Oakley
Copyright © 01.09.2001
