THE NORTH WIND

So long to the office and 9 to 5
Where the daylight glows from a tube
So long to the crash of the traffic lights
And the crush of the big city blues.
Bring me the sigh of a desert dawn
And the touch of a star filled sky
Send me the hush of a warm north wind
Tell me the reason why. 

Outback in the soul of an ancient land
Eternal stands Uluru
Timeless as the dream time song
Of Mutitjulu, Mala, Anangu.
And I walk the rock in the lonely haze
Wondering at a world turned colder
When down the rock rolls that warm north wind
And settles on my shoulder. 

Kings Canyon where down the gorges glides
The graceful grey strike thrush
And far off purple mountains pose
For Namatjira’s brush.
In the shadow of the rock like a synagogue
Stand the domes of Kata Tjuta
As desert oaks and spinifex pose
For the wide eyed camera shooter. 

Have you seen a town like Alice?
Have you seen a desert rose?
Have you seen the wide brown river
Where the water rarely flows?
I’ve seen a town like Alice
Watched the doctor flying home
Where the teacher sees the children
Through an HF microphone.

I’ve swum in the lush of Mataranka Springs
In the warmth of the secret river
An oasis in the dryland woodland
Just beyond the never never.
And I fell in love with Katherine
Gorgeous in orange robes
What are those sounds in the soft evening light?
Only Nitmiluk knows. 

Have you been this close to the milky way?
Have you heard a star shed a tear?
Reached up and touched Venus on a clear outback night?
God how I wish you were here.
Yet somewhere in the dance of the dry desert haze
And the star filled night so clear
Wafting soft in that warm north wind
I feel your hand still near. 

The red centre rolls back as the top end rolls in
Under Capricorn’s tropical skies
Gagadju calls down Kakadu’s walls
From Nourlangie, Namarrgon strikes.
Lotus lilies laze on Yellow Waters green
Bee-eaters swerve and swoop
Sea eagle rules from his throne on high
As crocodile stalks jabiru. 

When I’m dreaming of Darwin on cold southern nights
Cool beer on a balmy beach
Where bougainvillea blooms heal Tracy’s wounds
Along a warm Arafura Sea.
When I’m back in the bustle, the rush, the hustle
With the traffic lights yelling at me
Then let the traffic lights yell, I’ll just wait
I’ll be dreaming of The Territory.