by Marilyn Humbert

Capertee Valley air is still.
Insects scatter as we wander
sun glazed sandstone escarpments.
Hazy eucalypts along the line of sight
draw eyes to the summit.

Boots scuff roots, scrabble pebbles.
Native bees hover above a patch of yellow
filling the gap between us. I stumble
against a casuarina’s rough bark

scrambling the slope
to watch a harem of wrens hop
among sparse stalks, tail feathers flicking,
ignore our intrusion.

From an outcrop halfway to the crest
the valley lies exposed. Far below a river
craves pasture and forest. It’s here we stop
ancient land warm beneath our soles.

Your steadying hand enfolds mine.
We leave no trace in passing.

• Poet’s note: Capertee Valley NSW Australia
  is the widest enclosed canyon in the world.