Storm Bird

Cooee. Cooee,

In the still of the night, from the heart of the tree,

He sings his plaintive song, again and again,

Cooee, cooee,

A prayer for rain.

The moon behind

the palm tree shines its pattern on the blind

and tossed in fevered wakefulness

we will a breeze to damper the refrain,

Cooee, cooee, the storm bird sings for rain

Tomorrow the uneventful sun will arc

Its passage through another day, blue sky

From dawn to dusk, from dusty hill to dry

Creek bed, and

blaze its heat upon the swollen cane,

Until at eveningtime

We search the starry climes with sweated eye

Listening to the endless cry again

Cooee, cooee,

The storm bird sings for rain.

copyright Jo Collett 2003.