Burnt Country

We walk through burnt country

feels safe

                        opened up

due East

samplings, old trees

burnt, their ashes

spread, crisscrossing the uneven ground

charcoal scars adorn the landscape

the old fire cycle

continuing

red grevilleas decorate the black forest floor

we walk silent

in our own thoughts

Kakadu NP.  July 2024

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the Kakadu national park lands, the Bininj and the Mungguy and its leaders past and present. Sovereignty has never been ceded. Like millions of Australians I accept the Uluru Statement of the Heart and support the Voice.