Down By The River

• Gabrielle Bourke, Grade 10, Avila College
• Poetry
• 2009

1st in the 'Xtreme Read 2009' competition

Down by the river and hidden from reality is where our tune begins,
Surrounded by the bush and a midnight ocean troubled deep within.
The ancient eucalypts stand tall, ever-constant around us,
Their leaves dance gracefully in perfect time with the bush chorus.

As we jump into the dark depths, our bare limbs smack the water,
We create the usual symphony of a lullaby cut shorter.
The water burns our bodies like a piercing glacial ice,
Our once sweet melodic ballad changes of its own device.

A cacophony of gasping staccatos interludes the piece;
The deafening sound of silence follows after this release.
We climb the steeply sloping rocks of age-old granite once more,
Our laughter echoes off the valley as the theme begins to soar.

Sharp rocks carve their detailed patterns as we reach the crest at last,
We stretch out our arms like lovers on a ship, doomed in times past.
We leap fearlessly, as the final stanza is unfurled,
Down by the river, we imagine we’re the Kings of the World.