Not the old Buddha, but I did want it to stay open for the reader to
interpret as they saw fit. One interpretation was an old Aborigine named via
some weird missionary - Most of those names are Christian, as you might
guess. Or they were named after a characteristic of the person - like an
Aboriginal girl I knew way up north once called Catch-me-up.
Buddha was also the nickname of a star player and administrator of rugby in
Australia some decades ago.
But it really is a statue of Buddha, Gautama to be precise, standing near
the huge watertank.
2009/6/11 Patrick McManus <[log in to unmask]>
> Andrew are you the 'old Buddha stands silent,
> eyes hooded among raindrops sparkling
> on gum leaves in sudden sunlight'
> cheers P
> ps I will watch out for that Pancho
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Poetryetc: poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of andrew burke
> Sent: 11 June 2009 07:44
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: On Chapman Hill
>
> On Chapman Hill (title)
>
>
> Let's walk to get the city out
> of our bones. I'll show you red gums,
> xanthorrea with spears, flame-tailed
> black cockatoos-no strangers here
> unless you hear the protea's accent
> on the evening breeze.
>
> See, kangaroos' paws break
> the tractor tread marks, while
> off that stony corner a body rusts,
> wings and bonnets, flat trays
> and drive shafts, welded
> wildly by the elements.
>
> Tonight, you'll hear boobooks
> stretch silence horizon to horizon
> in the bright moonlight. It sends
> Pancho into a barking frenzy,
> shouting down the ghost in the trees -
> attack's his best line of defense.
>
> Sure as night follows day, there's
> growth in decay. This land, once
> Yamatji, is now _plotted and pieced_. By
> the watertank, old Buddha stands silent,
> eyes hooded among raindrops sparkling
> on gum leaves in sudden sunlight.
>
>
> Notes: xanthorrea are grass trees; boobooks are the most commonest owl
> in Oz; Pancho is a mad retriever; Yamatji is a local tribe; 'plotted
> and pieced' is from GMHopkins.
>
> Photos of bush on my blog.
>
> All comments welcome.
>
>
> Andrew
> http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
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>
--
Andrew
http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
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