Black Swan Dreaming

June 27, 2026
1 hour

 

Dozing on a quiet day
I hear the beating of wings on the waters of the bay
The sharp sound shatters the stillness and stirs me
I see white wing tips flashing in the bright sunlight
And watch as – frantically flapping to beat the still air
A pair of black swans struggle aloft – but then soar
And I watch the couple’s flight away
As quiet returns to the swans on the bay
But where have my eloping lovers gone?
Away inland to reedy lagoons
There to shelter, cocoon and to breed
And so – soon – in a month or two
They’ll be cygnets and then they’ll be swans
And inevitably, imperturbably, life goes on
As the world turns and the seasons change
In my Black Swan Dreaming

 

James Parker

James Parker is a Tasmanian historian (but with deep connections to Sydney), who writes and talks on mainly colonial subjects – especially convicts, women and the Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

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