A poem written and presented by Michael Rooke at the Club’s 70th anniversary luncheon on 09 October 2021
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Ringing Out…and Ringing On
What a privilege to be
at this celebration!
…and I’ve brought along a guest
who has no invitation…
At club meetings sits up front
with president and secretary;
only speaks a note or two
then sits there silently.
Usually is right on time,
generally makes no sound;
but, when the moment’s right,
has an influence profound.
Never been on the committee,
membership long overdue,
abstains when voting hands go up
yet has a voice all listen to!
Yes - it’s the bell from our club’s monthly meeting,
the bell that hurries us back to our seating:
and this very bell that gets our attention
can also be rung out in celebration!
So - let’s ring out the bell for members gone!
They’re the foundations the club’s built upon:
from their expertise they gave of their best
for many long years, 'til laid to their rest
Let’s ring the bell for those far away,
for whatever reason not here today.
We don’t really need “Zoom” or “FaceTime”
to know that they’re with us in heart and in mind.
Let’s ring for those who are here from afar
(I can’t find a rhyme, so I’ll just say “hurrah!”).
They’ve come a long way from their own habitat
to join us local species for some catch-up chat.
And - let’s ring out the bell for the members here
who keep the club going year after year,
(and I reckon there’s relief at AGM time
when there’s a name on each nomination line).
Let’s ring for those who come to each meeting
whether it could be foggy or freezing
- and while some of us locals are already in bed
distant members (from Crows Nest, for example) still are facing the long road ahead.
Now let’s ring for our monthly PowerPoint presentations,
always enhanced with a range of questions,
(but one question often takes priority
will hdmi connect to usb?).
Let’s ring out the bell in silent awe
for the places we have a chance to explore,
for the wonder of creatures common or rare,
creatures of earth, of water, of air.
Let’s ring the bell for the country we walk
longtime formed from sandstone, granite, basalt;
mindful of the people who’ve lived on this land
for millennia so many to comprehend
And from those rocks formed long long ago
comes the soil in which plants and fungi can grow;
so let’s ring the bell for this plant and that tree
and for nature’s wondrous diversity!
Let’s ring out the bell for knowledge shared
for companionship and for connections made
(not forgetting campout happy hours,
sometimes with more than lemonade).
Let’s ring the bell for the billy
once boiled when out in the bush
(and while diversity on outings is always aimed for
morningty is also high on the list).
Now, to all of you there’s no need to explain
that naturalists don’t run nude in the rain;
but in one sense, when one sets out to explore
it could be said that one sees life in the raw.
So let’s ring the bell for the things we find
that nourish our heart, that challenge our mind;
yes, let’s ring the bell for the wonders we see
and hear and touch and smell and feel!
But let’s ring the bell, the bell of alarm,
when precious places are threatened with harm!
Who knows the price, who knows the cost,
of degraded land, and of habitat loss?
For maybe the earth is like a bell,
ringing out loud and clear,
of the specialness and the fragility
of all that naturalists hold dear.
So - may this bell ring on and on
for the care of the earth we walk upon.
The club is now ten years and three score,
and may it continue for countless years more.
And sometimes ring the bell in silence;
no names, no photos and no talk.
Ring the bell for being alive
to this wondrous earth we walk.
(And a bell too important not to mention -
Joffre Bell, living out at Clifton;
he’s 101 if he’s a day,
so for Joffre Bell - hip hip hooray!)
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