At Dawn’s Edge
By Dhirann, Year 9
At Dawn’s Edge
Mist hovers low, drowning fields in a quiet haze,
Fire pink streaks stretch across a burner-blue horizon.
Dew clings to leaves, sparkling bright, like a blaze,
whispering promises of warmth yet to come.
Birds kickstart the morning — they hum a holy prayer,
each call rippling through the silence.
A magpie’s song threads through the golden air,
breaking the stillness, filling it with light.
Jogger passes, where dew still shimmers bright,
Dogs tug at leashes eager to escape,
his footsteps echo, fading into the light.
The world wakes slowly, aching to move.
And as the first rays paint the earth in gold,
the morning breathes.
Its pulse is steady its promise unfolds,
A new day stretches wide — yearning to begin.
At Dawn’s Edge by Dhirann is an excerpt from Deadly Writing. Deadly Writing explores significant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices. Each week, students explore a range of texts crafted by First Nations artists and use them as inspiration for their own writing. They learn about Indigenous cultures and languages from diverse communities around Australia, and explore their own experiences and values as they write a series of short pieces of writing, producing a personal anthology. Students learn about and experiment with a variety of editing strategies as they prepare their own writing for publication. Deadly, unna?