Topic Tags:
0 Comments

Serengeti Serenade

Derek Fenton

Apr 01 2011

1 mins

God may, or may not, be in His heaven,
  but everything is most certainly well.
  We’ve just seen a herd of Thompson’s Gazelle
Maybe as many as six or seven
thousand, all preceded by the big five:
  lolloping lion and hissing hippo,
  leopard, buffalo, redoubtable rhino
and more; making us glad to be alive.

Here, so close to where our ancestors walked
  out of Africa from near Olduvai
    having dropped from the trees, using their thumb
to hitch a ride to progress, past roads forked,
  away from this garden of eden to fly
    who knows where … praise how far we have come!!

(Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania: Where fossils of early
primitive men were found)


Subscribe to Quadrant magazine here…


 

Comments

Join the Conversation

Already a member?

What to read next

  • Letters: Authentic Art and the Disgrace of Wilgie Mia

    Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.

    Aug 29 2024

    6 mins

  • Aboriginal Culture is Young, Not Ancient

    To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case

    Aug 20 2024

    23 mins

  • Pennies for the Shark

    A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten

    Aug 16 2024

    2 mins