Australian Poem
This Australian Poem titled "Man of this Land" was written by our Mother when she lived in the Australian outback. She had a great admiration for Indigenous Australians and wrote quite a lot of poetry about the Australian Aboriginal people. This wonderful poem is one of them.
Man of This Land
Motionless, standing with chin thrusting high,
He looks so majestic, alone there he stands,
Not a blink of an eye, or a move of his hands.
The sun it is sinking, the wind turning cold,
He stands there surveying this land that is old,
In one hand he's clutching a spear, long and slim,
The other is holding a shield close to him.
He knows of the dingo and what bird is in flight,
He hears the sea pounding on the cold empty shore,
And suddenly, silently, he is there no more.
As soft as a shadow, as swift as a bird,
He's moving away, and will not be heard
By the creatures that scurry along on the ground,
He'll pass them by silently, never a sound.
He'll make not a sound, nor utter a cry,
And then when the moonlight turns night into day,
He'll leave not a sign that he passed on this way.
As the morning sun rises the desert is bare,
Not a stone or a stick shows that he has been there,
In this land that he knows, this land that now is
So silent and empty, this land that is his.
Stella P. Bell
If you loved this Australian Poem you will also love "The Legend of Bimi"
You can read part of the Introduction on the right of this page or if you want just go straight to the whole of the Introduction on our Epic Poetry page.
Go to next poem page: The Prejudice Poem
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"The Legend of Bimi"
Introduction
There's a tale that begins in the sand hills
That I would like to tell,
Built from myth and many legends,
And my pen it does compel.
The desert's a hot, a hostile place,
Nothing's changed since time began,
There's a hazy unreality there
As if it, in the dreamtime was planned.
The noon of the day is so hot and still,
And over all an expectant hush,
Like a canvas that's waiting impatiently
For the touch of the artists brush.
The fire of the day can change swifly
To the night of startlingly cold,
Many legends are told of the people
Who live in this land so old.
To continue to read the introduction to this wonderful piece of poetry our Mother wrote called
"The Legend of Bimi" just go to our
Epic Poetry page
We know you will love it!