Irrinja

An elder's nostrils flare
As quiet calm gives way to chill laden breeze
Sand dances in harsh trances
Round the bases of acacia trees
A steely glare burns beacon like
From deep within the butcherbird's eyes
Whilst a tribesman glides unnoticed
To the place where the horizon meets the skies

The sparks within the campfire rise and die
As willy willies swirl and howl

And woman folk cling grimly to their babies
They fear something's on the prowl
A bitter evil lurks in the parched bed
Of this so vast and ancient sea
A dark-skinned evil devil dog
A vessel for lycanthropy

Devil dance invokes the sand
The elders tense with fear
The memories of their childhoods tell them
The dog irrinja soon be here

The winds howl fierce toward them
As dust devils rob the night time sky of stars
The fire is extinguished and the tribe escapes
The cave seems much too far
The dingoes cower in their lairs
This cry they hear is not from one of them
They smell a distant evil well of darkness
From which terror soon will stem

The morning comes, the wind has gone
And the young ones' spirits lift them into song
The sun burns hot and bakes the land
Oblivious to what lay beneath the sand

And that day brings much rejoicing
They feel the worst is done
But the elders tremble grimly
As a silhouette flies from the sun

Hours pass and soon the sky goes dark
The bird unmoving in the tree
The deathly silence taunts them
'Til the firelight is all they hear and see
Their breath hangs still in misty clouds
A chill grips them so they cannot speak
And terror rips right through them
As the butcherbird unleashes with its shriek

Devil dance invokes the sands
The elders tense with fear
The memories of their childhoods warn them
The dog irrinja son be here

Morning breaks the old man rubs his eyes
He peers around and sees the bleeding sands
The bone and sinew scattered
Remnants of his dear departed clan

The butcherbird flies trailing some intestine
From its sharp ungodly bill
And a baby's head stares blankly
The last witness to a cruel and bloody kill