Original Poem by Susan Woodhead
…a panorama from the Bundjalung region…

Brush the sand from my feet
& the sea from my hair,
Kiss the salt from my skin,
No need to ask where
I’ve been.

Since the morning I’ve traversed
the length of a day,
Watched the storm clouds gather
& then roll away,

Heard the sound of the ocean,
Felt the sting of the spray,
Watched little terns bob
& pick their way;

Stepped lightly across
the rain-washed sand,
Where the edge of the water
frilled & fanned,

Looked east to the lighthouse,
Then to the mountains in cloud,
To the rock-strewn edges
where the pandanus bowed,
& the banksia bent
& the sea eagle cruised,
& the gulls on one leg stood accused
of scavenging.

Then where the black rocks darkly
marked the shore,
Where the fisherman waded
to catch one more,
Where the footprints scoured
& scuffed the sand,
The sun shone bright
On the Promised Land.