Imaginary friend

What would one say
To knowing
The sweet cavalcade
Dancing in dreamtime
Where rainbow glitter
Unicorns and faeries
Parade then sleep tenderly
Among the daisies
Where folk from far away
Mingle peacefully
Sharing all their wares
Speaking freely
One another's tongue
The place where I
Hold you in my arms
Exaocarpus cupressiformis, Native cherry, Lenah Valley Tasmania

Down my street

A patchwork of concrete
Black cat sidles along
Gutters eyeing passersby
A calico skips across
In front of me
Brazen on the beat

Darkness crawls
Too far between
Street light skirts
Even after all these years
Smiling at young woman
A creepy sense inside
For our safety

Cliff face laced with mist
Sandstone eyes watch over
Blanket of eucalypts
Butting up against
Blaring highway
Gateway to freedom

All along coastline
State of road and roofs
Never matter
When ocean views evoke
Breathless wonder

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