Image sourced from http://australian-animals.net/brolga.htm 

a tale from downunder
from before the invasion




Brolga

***************

Benign Brolga

balances blissfully

before bloodless

breeze becoming

beauty behind

bristling battle

***************

Aboriginal Dreamtime tells of a little girl called Brolga. She danced a graceful dance imitating the Pelicans and the Emus of her region. So good was her dance that many tribes came from afar just to watch. One day the evil spirit Waiwera came down from the milky way and decided that Brolga must be his. He formed into a whirlwind, a willy-willy, that enclosed her and floated her away. Brolga's tribe fought the evil spirit for days. Waiwera, on realising he could not have her, decided that no one would and the little girl vanished. The willy-willy then disappeared into the sky. At the place where it had been there was left a Coolibah tree. The tribe watched as a beautiful tall grey bird appeared from behind the tree and began to dance the same movements that Brolga had made. They knew that the spirit had transformed her into a bird and from that day on, Aboriginals have always called the bird, Brolga.

***************

The above story reviewed from:

 http://www.dreamtime.auz.net/default.asp?PageID=54





Poetry by Eli The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 831 times
Written on 2009-04-02 at 11:25

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What a wonderful story. The idea of reincarnation stretches across many cultures.
2014-08-30


Caprice
Wonderful poem! And the myth is ever so moving...
Love the picture, the bird resembles a crane, famous for its dancing at a certain lake in the south of Sweden.
2009-04-10


Eli The PoetBay support member heart!
Thank You. I have included the image source after reading your comment.

I must remember to include the image source, I must remember to include the image source, I must remember to...
2009-04-03



Wonderful to see this back! A really strong poem - reminding me of the old Icelandic poetry in sound and construction. The vikings would have loved to hear it after dinner, sitting around the table enjoying beer and poetry! ;-)

And what a beautiful and moving myth ... a treasure. What is the bird in the picture? Looks rather like the crane, also famous for dancing. They do the dancing further south in our country, so I've never seen it, but a couple of them always come to spend some days here in the meadow outside our house in spring and autumn, taking a break in their flight somewhere else. Imposing birds they are, I so love to watch them.
2009-04-03