December 1955 School Magazine

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

December, 1955

Brisbane Girls' Grammar School Magazine

December, 1955

HOME COMING

vVe wait. White muscovies art sailing, sailing, swaying into the dream-green dusk, into the long grass where the lost colour of cabbage moths makes pale patches in a sea of translucency. And so there comes a snapping, snapping in the patterned s ilt nce. We wait. To-day tan, cobbled water slid into gloom, spun out again, and threaded itself through bracelets of the sun's hair. Now the ta:r1, cobbled water slides into gloom .... We wait. W'e are silent because it is so wonderful to be lost, hiddtn and receptive in the frail green dusk. V\T e left the house. The lig:hts of the house are bthind us in the dusk, the merciless hot white lights of man. The moths come into the house and are trapped and broken by the vision of light behind glass. Poor little scorched, broken bodies like pieces in a smashed mosaic, a moss coloured, rose-coloured, shining mosaic. But there is no artist to mourn the fall of his creation, at the in- cineration of moths. We wait. The last duck following the flock to camp is almo·st ner- vous i11 her mov0ments. Perhaps the dusk stirs in her some lost, primeval memory of when ducks did not live with men. P erhaps the grass whispers, urges her to return to her stolen h eritag·e-the swamps . .We wait. There's a swamp behind tht hill and we were going there. How often we remembered and longed for that creek smell! It was neither smell of leaf mould nor smell of lantana, but something magic yet earthy warm cr0ated out of the death of basal wood and earth. Once there was an old log in the swamp and it was our boat. On hot singing summer days we moved across the flat, dappled surface between the skimming water-boatsmen. Once-but it do0sn't matter now. Tonight at the house they told us the swamp was drained while we were away. What are we waiting fo·d vVe haven't the cour- age to climb the hill and see the raw bleeding agony of our bn•ken world. vVe think we will go away tomorrow. -ALEXA TABKE (VI) OUR RELATIVES Thos e blessed, or shall we say cursed, with innumerable relatives have at some time or other in the winding course of their lives, had occasion to review and probably r egret them. 35

"CORROBOREE"

M .P., !VF.

W. POPE, !VE.

34