A Reverent Walk in the Bush

Hello beautiful,

This weekend I packed a picnic and went for a bushwalk on Gubbi Gubbi / Turrubul Country, to soothe my nervous system and spirit with some beautiful nature balm.

The natural landscape felt so inspiring and alive that I created a gentle spoken poem as I walked, softly describing of all the things I noticed … insects, birds, trees, water, shells, a snake, the breeze.

Here’s a recording of the poem as I created it, and written form below. I hope you enjoy <3

A reverent walk in the bush (Nature Still Sings)

A poem created on Gubbi Gubbi / Turrubul Country

 

I come to my favourite local bush track

Taking a mindful walk to connect with nature

And let off some steam

Notice sounds

 

There's a bird, high up in the tree

bending down and sideways to look at me, wondering what I'm doing

He’s joined by friend

I notice, insects, love insects

 

A giant moth flies past, the trees talk

They move with the wind

I see blue sky in negative space

through the leaves and trunks and branches

 

A piece of hair, crossing my eyes

Or maybe a spiderweb

A leaf falling and twirling

from the canopy

 

I walk and come to some shells

Some white sparkling shells in the sunlight

I pick one up and they're warm

filled with dirt

 

We're inland here

So, either somebody collected these long ago

Or perhaps recently, and bought them inland

Or perhaps, this used to be the sea as well

 

I come to a tree

The bottom half has been cut open and healed

in rounded edges of bark

in beautiful shades

 

Maroon-brown

and whites and creams

Shedding in some places

Old sheds caught in others

 

A spider with eight legs

Framed in a cross, is housed here

A small tree with a bug I've never seen

like a lady bird, but grey with white stripes.

 

A spider's web

Parachutes to the left in the breeze

Man-made objects

A worn golf ball from nearby, and a piece of plastic.

 

The insects still sing

 

I look slightly off track

Landscape changes here.

Just ahead I see 1000s and 1000s of trees

from thumb-width to human-trunk-width

 

Towering perhaps 10 meters high.

Small long thin shaped green leaves

and white trunks.

Paperbarks. Melaleucas

 

And the insects and birds still sing

 

I love coming out here, I love that I can discover new things

like memories of a child being an explorer

and seeing things for the first time,

wondering if I'm the only one who's ever stepped foot on this particular area.

 

While also having imaginative memories of

Indigenous Peoples once living here,

watching the beautiful shadows dance across all of the bark.

As whole thin trunks sway in the breeze

 

And the insects and birds still sing

 

I find my way back to track now

Ooh – a snake slithers across

Thin, like my thumb,

brown, gray, like the leaves below.

 

I let the Earth, the Country know what was coming.

And then I was here when I arrived,

I put my hands on the dirt and a tree trunk,

and let them know my intentions were, gentle, and kind.

 

I reach a new habitat here, and the trees look different.

There are islands of trees and debris

amongst vast areas of water, still water, flat

light brown with the sun shining through. Like honey.

 

I see dragon flies and

the insects are louder here,

and the trees with trunks thicker

move differently, than even 20 steps ago.

 

Such a pleasure … and I noticed some tears come to my eyes.

This … this place, is a true gift and I'm grateful to be here

and to witness the life that is around me,

that has so openly and yieldingly welcomed me into their space,

 

space of the trees and insects

and birds and animals and breeze

of fallen bark and branches and leaves

and trees that look like they're out of fairy tales

 

And the birds and insects, still sing

by Chrissy Foreman


P.S. Up for some nature-inspired art-making?

Come along to my Creative Nature Workshop at Drift Coffee Co., Scarborough.

Saturday 27th November, 6:00pm – 8:30pm

BOOK HERE

Artuition

Chrissy Foreman | Neurodivergent Artist & Art Therapist.

http://artuition.com.au
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