From this rock spine, not three feet wide,
Rivers of a continent divide
From this rock spine, not three feet wide,
Rivers of a continent divide
Twelve foot’s the rise and fall
Of barometric Man
A garden gracious, serene and spacious at Lambeth –
This is the dream, the vision that shall be its crown
Dark sea dark land lie close beneath
The muffling guilt of night,
This mountain means discovery, since the day
I climbed it first in boyhood and alone,
Out of the cloud my Lord the Sun,
Out of the earth my Lady Spring,
He lies unblinking, black and corpulent,
first lizard from his hibernation sleep
… obliterating in instant mini-time
a universe of suns and planets
with or without their myriad forms of life,
Michael Thwaites had a life-long sense of connection with the natural world, particularly of Australia, whether awed by the wonder of creation, or playing with the humour of a common life shared with other creatures.
Come down from that Crest! It’s Australia Day, Emu –
We just want to say, mate, how much we esteem you.