The edge of the forest
The track meanders slowly
Between private land and state forest.
On one side the signs read:
"Private property, keep out",
" no trespassing", " no shooting",
"Warning, trespassers enter at their own risks" .
On the other side , they say :
"Collection of fire wood prohibited in this area" ,
"Illegal wood cutting will be prosecuted" .
The signs either hang onto the barbed wires
Or are nailed to tree trunks
Depending on which side they belong.
On one side lay the short grass paddocks
Sparsely inhabited by the parched remains of long dead gumtrees
Where black Angus try to find a feed.
Further on a herd of goats and sheep
Are shepherded by two muddy Maremmas
In the absence of human careers.
On the the other side kangaroos and wallabies
Jumping above broken branches and dead wood
Are bounding away at the smallest pretence.
The silence of the place is broken
By the infernal whining of chainsaws
And the repetitive shooting explosions
Of townies guns come down for the weekend .
In the early evening
The reeking smoke of gumtree burning
Fills heavily in the air
When that racket dies down eventually
The maniacal laugh of the Kukaburra
The "whoo-hoo-hoo" of the owl,
Tears and breaks the silence
Enveloping the forest to sleep.
Lucette C. Bailliet
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