He sits there watching
Spinifex and gum trees
Emu and the wallabies
Old Man Rock
He’s steady-on
I sit upon him
Wondering
At all that is
And ever was
And what it means
And what becomes
I watch with him
As grasses bend
In gusty wind
When this he says to me
The grasses and the emu die
They come and go
They’re just like you
Ephemeral
Like cold and heat
Like sun and rain
In cycles
All repeating
To this I say
Time chips away
It wears you down
It’s weather’s way
But Rock just laughs
Then heaves a sigh
He looks at me
Then says (no lie)
Earth I am
Will always be
Sure, wind and rain
Do weather me
Knock the stone
Right offa me
Then grind the stone
Into the earth
But, sand I’ll be
Which, still, is Earth
Then, soon enough
The crush of time
Returns me to
This state of mine
While all that lives
Soon turns to dust
Becomes the Earth
As all things must
So when you die
You’ll someday see
A part of you
Transforms to me
Then time, my friend
Permit its work
Will grind us down
Time does not shirk
It lays us out
To be consumed
By living things
It’s what you do
And there’s the rub
All cycles turn
So what is me
May soon be you
But what is you
Is always me
Northern Territory, Australia
Taken during travels, 1994
Pix to Words 