LESSON 38 CREEKS OUT WEST

CREEKS OUT WEST

M ABEL F ORREST , the writer of this poem, was a native of Queensland. She wrote many poems and stories about Australian life.

FAR underneath the heat-white sand the hidden waters ［1］ lie,

When, in the spring, the gum boughs wave their blossoms to the sky;

Below the path of wand' ring ants, below the cattle track,

Slips the cool green of silent tides along the creeks Out Back.

The hot winds crackle in the grass, the drought-breath burns the weeds,

No clear blue waves go lapping to the rhythm of the reeds ［2］ ,

But striking through the heavy sand a water-gaining quest,

The bushman fills his billy from the hidden stream Out West.

At dawn beside the water-course the magpie trills his song,

The brown snake stirs the grasses that the stock left dry and long,

The slow iguana ［3］ waddles from his carrion-feast at noon,

And 'possums play in iron-barks beneath a pale gold moon,

And through the dusk towards the camp the lank ［4］ brown drover rides,

And wonders at the secrets of those slipping, voiceless tides;

The beef-wood scatters creamy blooms along the singing breeze,

The heavy cattle chew the cud between the brig'low ［5］ trees,

And when the stars like shattered ［6］ gems flash all about the sky, Far underneath the dew-damp sand the hidden waters lie.

—M. FORREST

* * *

［1 ］ hidden waters: Water underneath the sands in the beds of rivers and creeks.

［2 ］ rhythm of the reeds: The soft sighing of the wind passing through the reeds.

［3 ］ iguana (pronounced ig-wa-na): A large lizard.

［4 ］ lank: Lean, thin.

［5 ］ brig'low: Brigalow, a tree found in the inland of Australia.

［6 ］ shattered: Smashed to pieces.