I remember this place
Before the rain
The ruddy red brown
Of that dusty plain
But witness it now
That the rain has come
In the shapelier state
Of that lonesome gum

The river dry
With its sandy bed
Like an empty vein
That’s been cut and bled
Is now running fast
And filled to the brink
But to its desert home
It will flow and sink

Many times now
I’ve seen this occur
In the heaviest wet
When things are a blur
To those dry summer days
‘Neath the hot centre sun
When the shadows are tall
And the burning is done

First published in “Barking Dogs”, from
The Writers For Radio Project, Alice Springs 1995