The Snake

They once were little tears,
but now their minds are ticking,
behind those angry eyes,
the serpent's tongue is flicking,

tasting if the time is ripe;
hints of hurt an' hate,
a body of fraternity,
resolve in after taste,

the streets are streams that team with schools of innovative brains,
parents, crims, professionals, all head towards the same,

Each day they form a tributary,
Each day another sliver
joins the song of; victory!,
that flows toward the river,

Rushing down the streets,
gushing through the bush,
despite their small defeats,
still they come to push,

Collecting all the drops and puddles,
swamps, ponds, dams and lakes,
singing river songs,
so as to wake the snake,

At the river they arrived,
coiled in each and other,
a stranger now a friend,
a friend is now a brother,

And when the celebration ceased,
they came to call the serpent,
in such a chorus that it shook
all the earth and firmament,

but his answer never came,
so an elder at the head had said,
"he died his people's pain,
the Wogel now is dead",

it parched the people's love and hope,
'til song succumbed to silent doubt,
the armour's scales on those who pushed,
the people came to flout,

And then they bent in misery,
'cause for all that they had fought,
through such a trying history
had finally come to nought,

but then it came, so far away,
a voice still high and soft with joy,
and one by one the multitude,
had turned about to face the boy,

"I can see the serpent!",
said a boy in such a voice,
that all the people turned around
to praise, hail, and rejoice,

But there only stood an elder
not knowing what to say,
so again he said "the Wogel's dead,
he died the people's pain",

And in soul ache hate, they turned again,
faces stern, to go,
but the boy was hard, resilient,
and so he told them "No",

"I can see the serpent,
rising for the sun,
and I'm prepared to strike with him,
with all of us or none,

we live today and so he does,
the Wogel's us together,
with certain sight and will to fight,
the Wogel lives forever",

So what's to come?
We're here together.
Will this meet an end?
Will the Wogel live forever?
That's up to us my friend.

 

(The Wogel is a name for the Rainbow Serpent. The most significant creator being in Aboriginal Australian beliefs)

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