After Larry
Butterflies were everywhere
Tully hospital and
Home gardens were their home.
After Yasi
So many trees gone in Tully and everywhere
Uprooted, turned inside out
With their skeleton roots starkly exposed
But,
Flights of dragonflies everywhere
Clustering and descending
To adorn rocks by
Swimming pools in need of a clean
Skimming on the water
Approaching and fleeing
Varied in kaleidoscopic patterns
Attracted to handle of red net
My son is holding
Their wings – small but aerodynamically efficient
Lead me to imagine myself
One with them
But, yesterday
I saw a Cairns Bird Wing butterfly
Dancing in the garden
Remembered how plentiful they were in Feluga
They became the slip stream
To all that has been lost.
(c) June Perkins
June Paisa Perkins 