REGENERATION
| Bushfires sweep the countryside With lashing tongues of flame In each Australian Summer It has always been the same Scientists inform us That when the fire appears History is repeated It's been thus millions of years Numerous fires are lit by lightning They flare and spread so quick But some are lit by fire-bugs With cruel minds that are sick Both humans and the wildlife Will feel the ultimate torment Of the terrible inferno That is man or heaven sent When the flames have been defeated It is then we learn the cost Of the fire's scourge of affliction Where life and homes are lost But both nature and the human heart Have a spirit of renown And there will be regeneration In the bushland and the town Though the memory of the horror Will perpetually remain The townships and the bushland Will rise up once again The people in the country Will overcome their strife And with sheer determination Will again rebuild their life And on the fringe of country townships Where the fires were most severe Peaceful country homesteads Will gradually reappear Ugly scars on blackened trees Present an eerie scene And a carpet thick with powdered ash Marks where the fires have been It is comforting to realise This disturbing scene won't last Time will make this ugliness A memory of the past The bushland's beauty is denuded But in time, with falling rain The Wonder that is nature Will heal her wounds again To protect plants from extinction Many problems have been solved Nature challenges the wrath of fire With defence she has evolved Mother Nature's wisdom Is unique and so profound She stores a host of precious seeds Safely underground The Banksia and Wattle seeds Thrive after fires pass through Some Eucalypts produce new leaves Within a month or two Some plants possess reserve shoots That are shielded from the heat And some plant seeds are fireproof The flora won't concede defeat Many animals flee safely Before the flames arrive While other slower wildlife Seek shelter to survive The echidnas and the wombats Share burrows in the ground And in these sheltered havens Even reptiles can be found Insects seek preservation In the shelter of thick barks And some are spared untimely death From searing flames and sparks Possums have their own plan They move from tree to tree If the fire is not a 'crown fire' They hide in the canopy A sight unpleasant to the eye For everywhere you gaze A dark scar of destruction Records the fire's horrific blaze But with the passing of the seasons Time will change this bushland scene Wildflower will bloom happily Midst grasses cool and green Animals will frolic In a tranquil forest glade While kangaroos laze peacefully 'Neath a Gum tree's cooling shade And angelic songs of happy birds Will echo from each tree As nature's home regains its beauty And its sweet serenity. K.D. Abbott © 2009 |
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