Judith Wright

Judith Wright is regarded as one of Australia's most influential poets and she used this influence to campaign for Aboriginal rights and Wildlife Preservation.  Her poem, Magpies, is a good example of her work.

Along the road the magpies walk
with hands in pockets, left and right.
They tilt their heads, and stroll and talk.
In their well-fitted black and white

they look like certain gentlemen who seem most nonchalant and wise
until their meal is served – and then
what clashing beaks, what greedy eyes!

But not one man that I have heard
throws back his head in such a song
of grace and praise – no man nor bird.
Their greed is brief; their joy is long.
For each is born with such a throat
as thanks his God with every note.

The scientific name for the magpie is  Gymnorhina tibicen.  Tibicen, in Latin, means  'flautist' and that is a reference to the beautiful call which Judith Wright highlights in her poem. 



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