The Banksia Tree

Over the street, by the empty lot,
A portal stood, to another world, my world.
Chatter and cheer, the tinkling of laughter,
Carried on the wind by the rustling leaves.

This was the place where the fairies played,
A place of wonder, hope, wild dreams.
In the land reigned the Banksia people,
We danced on its boughs in the silvery moonlight.

Then one day, they took Fairyland away,
The men with the big killing blades and clanging voices.
I tried to stop them, to save the tree, I begged,
Foolish girl, they said, begone.

In one fell swoop, the land was gone,
The magic, the wonder, the hope, the joy.
Whispered into the wind, the dreams all fled,
Left with nothing but a stump of a memory.

I, too, left with my world, my dreams.
To have new adventures, leaving nothing but a sign,
By the stump of the once beautiful Banksia.
Here stood Fairyland.