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Rated: · Poetry · Action/Adventure · #1267931

This poem was inspired by a visit to the opal fields of Australia

OPAL FEVER


Deep within the earth a deadly fever lurks,
To strike the heart of any seeker
With eyes bedazzled by the seams of opal

Heat drinks moisture from te body
Yet the sickness rages fierce.
There's no antidote to cool the fevered heart

The body's driven on to search
To seek with pick and shovel, scoop and 'dozer
The earth convulses by the onslaught

As if there were a moe at work.
Mullock heaps become white mountains.
Above the town a dust pall hangs

Passion holds the heart in thrall
Heedless of fortune's smile or frown.
When the body drops all toil will cease.


Gwenneth Leane
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