Black Shouldered Kite

Carved out of Strength, the furious kite
shoulders off the wind's hate.
The black mark that bars his white
is the pride and hunger of Cain.
Perfect, precise, the angry calm
of his closed body, that snow-storm-
of his still eye that threatens harm.
Hunger and force his beauty made
and turned a bird to a knife-blade.

From The Two Fires, 1955

Reprinted by kind permission of Meredith McKinney

Street Parade

Lighting the Way” Street Parade 2005

Burning Sensations and Tumbarumba

Photo courtesy Noel Francis

Burning Sensations, a community Arts collective, and Tumbarumba, a fantastic percussion group, both from Melbourne, came to Braidwood to build a parade of Birds in collaboration with the Braidwood community as a part of the Two Fires festival.

On Saturday evening the 12th of March a parade of Birds danced its way down the main Street of Braidwood to the rhythm of Tumbarumba. On arriving at the park the parade and audience were seated and a shadow puppet play and fire show took place.

Over 3 weeks workshops were run in the schools and with the community to create the Stunning Bird puppets and percussion sounds for the parade.

Images from the Street Parade 2005 courtesy Paris Silvester