magpie song

by John Bartlett 

wattlebirds wait for darkness
to loosen the dreams of children
for days to taste of peace

Dianella fibres like silk
strong enough to resist
the callous winds of winter

river redgums along the banks
of my childhood suffered
dumb rage of axe and saw

autumn dew drops from leaves’ length  clear
dear atonements  of magpie song 
slice the crisp air into a day full of sky

where is that untouched world
its birds wide-winging
cormorants their dottled dipping 
scratching the surface
of mirrored creeks               where

 John Bartlett is the author of eleven books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. He was winner of the 2020 Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize, Highly Commended in the 2021 Mundaring Poetry Competition. His latest poetry collection is Excitations of Entanglement.