Sometimes

When wedged in the cleft of a cliff
Gives shelter from relentless
Beating rain and wind
Storms outside and within
Cool cave a respite
Shade from scorching rays
Love for another lights
A campfire inside
Keeps you warm all night
Gives you strength to rise
To stoke its smoky coals
To nourish body and soul
Sometimes loving you
Is the same as loving me too.
Mt Cameron, Tasmania. Image not author’s own.

Passing rain

There is a noble price to pay 
For precious moments
Caught unawares each day.
Smiles invade consternation
On work, or other nonsensical plays.
Crawling through choked traffic
Over bridge, no harbour view
Through iron bar fence.
Number plates and brake lights
A flash of beams behind.
A song on the radio
One you might love.
Suddenly, eyes clear
Beaming as broadly
As white clouds over mountain
In front of me.
For all such moments night and day
I carry the cost of knowing
Thousands of smiles can turn
Unexpectedly
Like sun's rays carried away by clouds
Instantaneously, a shower
Pouring down
On my face
kunanyi / Mount Wellington Tasmania

If I had leaves

Of envy, I know this -
If I wish to attract the gaze
of the one I love
I do not mill around
in coffee shops.
But if I had leaves,
One would discern me
by my form and shape
Asymmetric and oblique
Fold one in the palm
To breathe in sweet tinge
Of cineole, aromatic
Gently wrap the hand
Around my branch
To discern my years
Notice every wind-whipped
Scar and scorch of blaze
Survived over decades
How can one be jealous
of such natural beauty?
Such earthly passion would
Turn anyone green!


Corymbia Maculata Spotted Gum (Myrtaceae) Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens