Monday 25 October 2010

Silent rituals of the bush

Gum-trees Stripping
Say the need's born within the tree,
And waits a trigger set for light;
say sap is tidal like the sea,
and rises with the solstice-heat -
but wisdom shells the words away
to watch this fountain slowed in air
where sun joins earth - to watch the place
at which these silent rituals are.

Words are not meanings for a tree.
So it is truer not to say,
'These rags look like humility,
or this year's wreck of last year's love,
or wounds ripped by the summer's claw.'
If it is possible to be wise
here, wisdom lies outside the word
in the earlier answer of the eyes.

Wisdom can see the red, the rose,
The stained and sculptured curve of grey,
the charcoal scars of fire, and see
around that living tower of tree
the hermit tatters of old bark
split down and strip to end the season;
and can be quiet and not look
for reason past the edge of reason.

Judith Wright

14 comments:

Virginia said...

Amazing photos Julie. It is nice to see the things that make your little corner of the world different from mine.
V

Kay L. Davies said...

Beautiful post, Julie, but it made me think of those dreadful fires, and all the terrible losses.
Gorgeous photos, though, especially the last one.

Kay, Alberta

Francisca said...

For some reason I read the poem before really looking at the images. I like all the bark images, very fitting, but that first grey lizard on grey wood stunned me!

Jo said...

Poignant words and beautiful photos, Julie. I love the last one the most. Have a great day. Blessings Jo

Julie said...

The poem is fascinating and from one of our major poets from the 1960s.

Pretty much she says take the bush or what you see, not for what you can make it mean in an intellectual fashion. And certainly rid yourself of the tendency to personify. It resonated with me when I went hunting for something appropriate to include.

Anonymous said...

Set your self a high standard to match with these photos. One of the most exciting things I saw in NT is a monitor standing up, motionless.

Jayne said...

Love goannas and their ability to use their claws so effectively ;)

Kevin said...

I enjoyed your observations of the bush. It’s always a thrill to see a goanna when bushwalking

Jim said...

Great bush shots. Not sure I'd be game enough to get that close to the goanna.

Julie said...

I am not sure if a goanna is the same thing as a Lace Monitor, but I am reliably informed that my first image was a LM. Also, you need to know that he was going UP the tree and I just flipped him on the side to suit my own selfish needs for displaing I can hear Judith Wright tut-tutting from beyond the grave.

Peter said...

Love the bush shots - the bush track an dthe bark.

Rinkly Rimes said...

Judith Wright! What a wonderful poet. And your shots complement her words.

Joan Elizabeth said...

Needless to say today's post pressed my hot buttons ... the bush and Wright's poetry are the perfect combo.

Julie said...

I tried Les Murray first though, I must admit.I need to read him again, as I am losing touch with his sensibility.