Walkabout Man

walkabout man

 

seven foot man

naturalist in a sampan hat

scientific coolie

proficient in earth language

glacial till

terminal moraine

arteries and veins

coursing through a complex island

 

no roustabout

no football player he

rather a long-trail hiker

serene and contemplative

walking encyclopedia

with an aboriginal approach

to nature

dreamtime consciousness

following songlines

his walkabouts trail

collecting from the spirits of

sea and sky and land

the outline of a heart

the template of his own overlays

aligned in understanding

the portent

the blessing

of each refrain

music of constant

flux

 

marking the path

 

passing it on.

 

—The late Neil Brosnan, a poet and island wise man with a keen mind and gentle heart, wrote this poem about our guide, Peter Brace, and, through a mutual friend, presented it to him on his birthday a few years back. The poem became the inspiration for the genesis of Nantucket Walkabout.