The Walking Stick
I borrowed a friend’s walking stick
And you’d be amazed at the places it took me.
I didn’t stumble or fall.
Instead, I drew a circle in the sand
And danced on a beach.
An inquisitive shearwater sat on that stick
And chirruped stories of great migratory flights
Across the equator to the Arctic tundra and back.
That little bird lifted my thoughts into flight and
I flew with curlews, sanderlings and red knots.
The stick and I walked a country mile and
Along the meanders of Memory Lane.
To welcoming places and friendly faces
Way back to my childhood and the
World and its wonders that awaited me.
I put my trust in that stick
As you would with a best friend.
Together we walked in the rhythms of reminiscence
Until the sun settled on our adventures and
We came home from a day that became a souvenir.
I told my friend about the places we’d been
And the magic and marvels of his stick.
How with imagination there were no boundaries and
No forbidding feelings of walking alone.
Rather the joys and discoveries from taking the first step.
Trevor Gill lives on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. A former daily columnist, sporting and feature writer with News Limited, he is the author of five published books and is currently working on his sixth. Trevor enjoys incorporating poetic form in his writing. He is a past board member of Falie Project Limited, former chairman of SA Tall Ships Incorporated, and past chairman of Yorke Peninsula’s Saltwater Classic, all roles dedicated to celebrating South Australia’s maritime history.
Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to poetscorner@solsticemedia.com.au. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.
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