Australian High Country Poems

an excerpt from THE SNOWY RIVER - A LAMENT When will the mighty Snowy be a river once again? For now it's just a trickle, and a weed-infested drain. The River's heart is broken, but it hasn't wept for years, For there's insufficient water for the shedding of its tears. The River's spirit's grieving, and its soul is in distress, As its banks grow more extensive and the water flow is less. If you're camping at McKillop's where the River's inches deep; Where the cypress-pines grow sparsely on the hillsides, dry and steep; It is grievous to remember the quite fantastic sight When the massive floods in Springtime showed the Snowy's awesome might. When the mountains would be shaken, they'd be shaken to the core, By the spate of surging water and the Snowy's fearsome roar. When the rocks were tossed like marbles in its ancient river-bed, As it gathered all the waters from its mountain watershed. But now I mourn in sorrow as I've watched the river wane, When will the mighty Snowy be a river once again?...