Dan Guenther: Dancing with the Stargazers, Cronulla

Dancing with the Stargazers, Cronulla

The name Cronulla is derived from the word kurranula, meaning “place of the pink shells” in the dialect of the Gweagal.

Tonight the amateur stargazers gather on the beach

between Kurnell and Cronulla,

each spinning a story

of emerging wonders

within our galaxy

and beyond,

their tales of ocean-bearing moons

orbiting Jupiter and Saturn

mixing fantasy and reality.

Sounds of laughter carry across the water,

out to the cloudless horizon;

and dazzled by the cosmos and one another

these nascent astronomers dance in the glory

of the moment,

their telescopes probing the stellar depths,

each on a different path

toward discovery,

and enlightened by their own celestial fires.

Along with their elders you observe from a distance,

heir to Cronulla’s past halcyon shore

where swathes of tiny pink shells

washed up from a hyacinth sea,

back when you and your mates

watched the day fade through a bottle of Flag Ale

while the full moon rose

over that beckoning deep,

illuminating the darkness.

Dan Guenther