The van diemen decameron
Country views - a covid traveller reflects

the sun reflects across polished grey surfaces

water beading off glass and metal

a quiet movement and the travellers are away

travelling to reconnect with the wider world

to think and see things outside the box- to feel the wind and rain

to cry-to grieve for lost freedoms and memories

roadways winding through tree lined streets

fringed with grey faceless buildings

receding more as the distances increase

Roads shrink from multilane chaos to dusty ribbons

country roads winding through space and peace

houses becoming sparse and hills and trees increase

gentle rolling grasslands appear around winding bends

pasture once burnt and brown now slowly greening again

trees standing huddled together in small groups

as if discussing the recent events

fire and flood again and still they are standing - surviving

everyday events in the bush

but somehow they have been different this year

the intensity more frightening

the duration much longer

The fear more vivid

both animals and humans absorbed in terror and isolation

retreating before the flames

surviving the devastation of the aftermath

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villages in remote areas disappearing into the past

Buildings and livelihoods crumbling

Lifestyles vaporised

memories and fear the only commodities in full supply

on lonely concrete silos standing isolated

visions of history being created again

Celebrating the small

Intimate visions of families and history

Of the local generations

reminiscences of local people

local events echoing down through time

preserving the little for the many

country halls now falling into disrepair

The ghosts of country dances fading

Sounds of laughter still float on the wind on moonless nights

communities are dying slowly

building by building

street by street

Street signs peeling with neglect

schools and pubs no longer full

fading families and fading jobs

Movements in time, slow and inevitable?

Perhaps not but certainly apparent

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the people are leaving the outback

The old bush town is dying

the spirit of communities is fading back into the bush

falling between the rocks and disappearing in the potholes of progress

old families and their memories being replaced

not with new lives and memories

rather with fear and mistrust -

history not written but forgotten

at a rapidly increasing rate

small farms swallowed by corporate greed and mega thinking

Big is better they say

They believe their advertising

They should

After all they wrote it

But big is not always best

big doesn't remember the small

Big does not recognise or remember

the smell of honest sweat and broken hearts ignored

Big does not think beyond the one

The vision is clouded

Because it is viewed through a fractured lens

Focused on the mighty dollar not the fragile person

the pieces of the bigger patchwork not seen

pieces of the puzzle of life and order oblivious

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nature and natural systems degrading and disappearing

rivers soaking into the dust of their banks

Mismanagement from offices in concrete canyons

Far from the river and the red dust

Numbers on balance sheets blurring the vision

now more important than people or the land

bare burnt and dead trees standing as stark reminders

Visions of what once was there

animals on the short march into extinction

Pools of dead fish piled high amongst growing dust mounds

my country is crying but even her tears are no longer falling

the beauty of the mountains once lush and vibrant

now stark and bare

lonely places where once life abounded

forests of dead stumps and burnt carcasses

replacing the colour and grandeur with black ochre pain

but wait

look closely

there is green among the black

nature is resilient

Life hangs on

-

It must be remembered time moves slowly and purposefully

The systems of nature and the natural world are resilient

man is but a blink in the history of the world

He has come abruptly on the scene

But is a minor player

in the aspect and history of the natural world

And will go just as quickly

Probably of his own making

leaving unfortunate scars of his time here

but these hopefully will heal

time will reach out and cradle the pain and replace the hurt

nature is complex

interconnected networks of everything and everyone

Communities of life forms that co exist

Gaia is the one and the many

Both large and small

Communal thought and action

working together in ways man can only dream of

Some are aware of the complexity

And stand in awe of its resilience and majesty

But unfortunately it is the minority that have the most power

The power to destroy through small minded ignorance

the ability to do the most damage without seeing

Refusing to hear the cries for help echoing around them

-

But optimism is a human trait that may win out

Children look to their future through fresh eyes

A future where everyone must co exist to exist

A future needing action now

Thinking and doing

what in the past has only been given lip service

Elders forgetting their obligations to the next generation

Focused on self absorbed views

Where others only wonder what happened and move on

The future has a champion

It is the true human spirit

Seen through fresh spirits and bright but sad eyes

The spirit that recognises and is aware of man’s place

The awareness of insignificance

A small place in the big scheme

With hope for both humanity and nature

The future has hope

the individual being aware and part of the whole

and the whole hopefully part of the individual

I hope I can be here to see it


Written 2020

Dr Geoff Wilmshurst spent 40 years as a professional teacher in disability education. He now spends his time travelling , writing and painting, and enjoying life with his wife Lorraine. He lives in the Blue Mountains in NSW, and finds inspiration for his work in its environment and that of similar places such as Tasmania and New Zealand. He hopes through art and poetry to connect with others, to make a positive difference in their lives, and to share the experience of what it means to be human and part of the natural world.