Jo Bertini
I hold the crimson fruit
and plumage of the palm;
flame-tree, that scarlet spirit,
in my soil takes root.
My days burn with the sun,
my nights with moon and star,
since into myself I took
all living things that are.
All things that glow and move,
all things that change and pass,
I gather their delight
as in a burning-glass;
all things I focus in
the crystal of my sense.
I give them breath and life
and set them free in the dance.
I am a tranquil lake
to mirror their joy and pain;
and all their pain and joy
I from my own heart make,
since love, who cancels fear
with his fixed will,
burned my vision clear
and bid my sense be still.
('The Maker' by Judith Wright)