by Andrew Hede

Incessant cacophony of unseen insects:
pulsating rhythms, syncopated percussion,
staccato strumming of cicadas
interrupted by footstep vibrations
triggering a Mexican wave of silence.

Frenetic chatter-songs of excited birds:
kookaburras raucousing, lorikeets shrilling,
macho mating call of a lonely whipbird
boldly cracking out his desperate wolf-whistle,
betraying his aloneness by his own faked reply.

Polyphonic effects of water in motion:
falls cascading over rocky ledges,
streams gurgling, bubbling, rippling, trickling,
harmonising in a dynamic soundscape
punctuated by the drip-drumming of rain.

Bush symphony played by the wind:
trees moaning softly like muted horns,
sensurround orchestra of rustling leaves
rising andante with a gusting crescendo
fading away slowly on a dying breeze.

And beneath it all:
the almost imperceptible throb
of the living earth.

Blue Mountains National Park, NSW