From Fire to Kite Sanctuary

January 2003 caught me by surprise;

Sky News blaring, ‘Canberra in Flames!’

as I woke from an East Midlands house

where I was hosted by a Mancunian family.

I used to run in that sanctuary,

Stromlo Forest, overflowing with

rich green, life-giving, peaceful pine trees.

Right at the heart of

our underestimated community.

"Where's Canberra?"

a Melbourne cab driver

once 'jokingly' said to me.

We exist in a place 

where having less 

stadiums and festivals 

is frowned on by

the 'Sydney elite'.

Come to the arboretum someday

and see what we've made

from fire: a kite sanctuary.