The delicate stillness of terns Yoshua Selvadurai University of New South Wales (IV)
“But once arriving in those warmer climates, why would migrating birds come back in the summer? It is really a question of how a species’ ecological necessities balance out, a delicate calculus that varies tremendously with species of bird, and over time.” Pokras, M, “Why Do Birds Return after Winter?” (2010) 4 Tufts University Journal 11.
Thin brown fish float on the waterhole like fallen gum leaves. Then they reveal their true identity, coming alive to coalesce and fire apart like a small cosmic explosion. Carefully parting drooping myrtle and stepping over dark tree roots, she wades into the green water flecked with topaz hues. Tiny animals freeze and watch through the dark tunnels of leaves. She needs this time in Smithton, to breathe, to put together the pieces that had threatened to separate forever under the frantic glare of Broadbeach. The sun is moving further up in the sky now and round droplets of light spill through the spaces between leaves, warming her Photo by Daniel Morris on Unsplash
skin. Taking a deep breath, she glides into the centre of the waterhole and flips on her back to feel the lulling of the water and the warm weight of the sun on her eyelids. It was in this same waterhole that she had started to teach Noah to swim. As they stepped onto the silty sand, warm light had flowed over them like water itself, brushing their shoulders and lapping around their ankles in golden pools. She had taken the day off from working at the Smithton travel agency, saying ‘even a Tassie boy needs to be a strong swimmer’. Noah had watched her in his usual serious way, not thinking to question her, assuming that her words described the way the Page 09
