Bellbirds

Do you remember
resting on that mossy old log
close side by side immersed
in the virgin beauty of that small glade,
Mara and Keisje nuzzling wet noses
and chasing shadows through the bush behind us,
the smell of rain damped earth,
raindrops still sparkling on blades of grass
in the sun streaming through eucalypt trees,
and the air filled completely
with the crystal tones of bellbirds
all around and above us.

I woke to the rain spattering on the roof
as you slept on waiting for the rain to pass
and for the cock to crow the sun's rising,
and with the sun you opened your eyes
and reflected in them I saw all the beauty
of that small glade and I was filled
with the love of you and reached out
and held you tenderly in my arms
and listened again to the bellbirds
all around and above us.

© 2003 Ross Nepia Himona


poems