I Could Walk Forever Beside the Yarra

I could walk forever beside the Yarra –

the river that runs upside down

Fish hide beneath its murkiness

Kept safe from heron that abound

I greet a willowy walker

His labbie sniffs, then trots along

Halts when a Liverpool accent –

shouts, strong after three decades on

I make way for the rush of bikes

That plough along the dusty path

Worn bare by the surge in people –

freed from the jail of Covid’s wrath

Submerged in the depths of the park

Relief! Traffic noise abated

Silence pierced only by bird tweets

Walkers talk arrives belated.

The breeze wafting off the river –

rustles the leaves in the tow'ring gum trees

Trees that have watched for a hundred years –

over water, burbling with ease.

I embrace the gifts of nature

Breathe the essence of Earth and say –

I’m so grateful to be alive

On this sunny autumnal day.

Cecile Ravell 2021