by Karyn B Jules

Created on: January 31, 2011

Vestiges...

Precariously carved
from the craggy, uncompromising slopes
of the Great Dividing Range,
a treacherous stretch of road,
barely wide enough
to accommodate two-way traffic,
connects several mountain communities.

From every vantage point
every bend, peak, gully,
mile after shocking mile
from eye to horizon
the scenery is the same;
Immeasurable
desecrated contours
punctuated
with a cacophony of charred limbs
protruding
in arthritic discord
from partially regenerated
understory
period

The township of Kinglake,
once nestled into, now teetering upon
the highest plateau
faces the daily grind of rebuilding
amidst stark, visual reminders
of the merciless wall of flames
that ripped out its heart
and buried its soul
beneath unfathomable mounds
of ash and rubble

The festive gathering on the main street
is not a celebration of recovery,
nor does it mark any sort of milestone achieved
in the two year long process.
Rather, it is an appeal to reach out
to the victims of more recent
natural catastrophic events;
Fellow Australians caught off guard
in low lying communities
inundated and isolated
by unprecedented riverine flooding
also struggling to come to terms
with the monumental road ahead.

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