2020 an historic year and just one quarter gone. Bushfires burnt our already brown land, lives lost, homes destroyed, images to melt the heart. Koalas homeless, our national emblem and Coat of Arms kangaroo and emu not immune too.
From drought to flooding rains, dams once dry full again, creeks flowing restoring life to our bush friends, our gums sprouting anew, foliage and support pretty soon for our birds to perch to build nests to lay their young.
We opened hearts as did volunteers, gave thanks to the firies and compassion to Aussies in their struggle to forge ahead, to rebuild, to just find food and a roof overhead.
The news filtered through, now a virus too.
How quickly it soon spread, borders closing a little late, no containment sealing some people’s fate.
We watched it unfold across the globe, our Italian friends suffering the worst it seemed, so hard to contemplate how fast it moved.
This virus would soon reach us, we were not prepared to go hard to halt this spread, a little late now to lay blame let’s think of the old, the frail and weak the immune suppressed, we need to rein in do what we can each of us to wipe it out.
There is no crystal ball to see ahead, trust in each other, do what is right, for it is a silent fight against a skilful foe, but there is something, an intangible thing it does not know and it’s not the wipes or the masks it’s the Aussie way, buckling down getting the job done protecting the weak so we can all stand strong.
Ruth Walsh
Country Park Qld
2020