Ballet Of The Brolga
 
Pirouette, tango,  rumba and waltz,
Courting makes dancing as parts become whole,
Crimson crowns dip before lithe bodies vault,
Leaping in unison, ballet of souls.
 
Mating dance bonding pairs loyal for life,
Guarding and raising their young with sweet care,
Protecting small creatures from danger and strife,
New lives that one day may dance in plein air.
 
Once brolgas would gather in numberless flocks,
Marshland and swamp under warm summer suns
Would ring with their hooting and trumpets and cries,
Fall silent and still now from fence, plow and guns.
 
Ungainly or stately is not the main point,
Brolga and human both finding a chance
To leap and to curtsy in simple pure joy,
Joining with others in soul-thrilling dance.