Australian BlueCentre country scene:
A thousand miles of desert,
Ten thousand miles of shimmering heat.
In and out the Dead Heart,
Only one great vastness;
Up and down the Diamantina,
Sand torrents stopped and stilled.
Hills dance like rainbow serpents,
Mirages race like shadowed giants,
Trying to vie with the sun in their reach.
A wild eye is needed
To view this wilderness decked with blue
In all its unforgiving beauty.
Thor (cheerfully ripping off Mao Zedong, “Snow”)
April 2008
---------“Snow” (extract)
poet: Mao Zedong; translated by Jock Hoe
North country scene:
A thousand miles locked in ice,
Ten thousand miles of whirling snow.
In an out the Great Wall,
Only one great vastness;
Up and down the Yellow River,
Torrents stopped and stilled.
Hills dance like silver serpents,
Plateaux race like wax-coloured elephants,
Trying to vie with God in their height.
A clear day is needed
To view this whiteness decked in red
In all its incomparable beauty.
Simpson desert ; image courtesy of www.greatdividetours.com.au/AOZInfo2001.html
