Festival of the Winds
(Bondi Beach)

the great grey whale
floats up high
two dazzling sharp-nosed birds
long tails
streaming
soar up, up away
dart, dance
seesaw,  swoop, loop,
dive in perfect parallel
to almost touch
a bulbous teddy bear lumbering
across the sky
tugging its strings
and there!
there!
a golden galleon tacks
into the stiff nor’easter breeze

hundreds of kites
flying
bobbing
red, green, orange, ultramarine
a kaleidoscope of colour
splashed and dashed above the crowds

on the sand and the grassy slopes
people stroll eating snacks
weave in and out
unpack picnic hampers
laugh and point and shout
in delight
“wow! did you see that?!
how do they dance together?”
the brass band booms
a bright butterfly tumbles down
zig zags
splashes to the sea
a boy skips with joy across the sand
as his tiny diamond
climbs the blue
and almost slips from sight

Sydney
I sing of you
here above the beaches
and the crowds
high in the windswept southern sky
we dare to fly
our dreams.