The Gorge

The Katherine River pours through the gorge

Cliffs, trees and birds soar above

To remind us

We are but temporary visitors to this timeless place

Our puny paddles leaving but a momentary ripple

Tree roots, tiny and vast,

Cling improbably to imperceptible cracks,

And metres higher a tree stands  strong

Against all odds.

Along the bank,  gums lie at impossible angles

Eloquent testimony to the power of flood

Pandanus curve and swoop over the water

Air roots intertwined and inseparable.

Above, beautiful salmon guns

Add their own tint

Clawed foot marks crawl across sandy inlets

Crocodile Nesting Site  an

Unnecessary warning.

We are seen, but see not.

But it is the cliffs

Multifaceted, uplifted in aeons past

granite and earth fired clay

Water worn to mystical colours and shapes

Which provide the real  awe

That and the sense of peace

When

Leaving all other boats behind

We share the river with itself

And in its rippling silence

It whispers to us

Of ages past.