melaleuca |
The PaperBark
You are the poet’s tree, cantos and books, chapters and stanzas
are hidden in your layers;
Secret histories of Earth and Spirit
wind, drought, visiting fire and deluge.
Lovers inscribe their visions in your leaves,
war declared, birth announcements
and the mysteries of Hanging Rock and the Red Hand.
The oldest legends are buried deepest:
the sky arching, land erupting: tree, blade and fauna;
Water receding and air coalescing from the void;
Brolga, emu, wombat and cockatoo record their genome –
even man, the infant in his chanting, slips amongst
Your pages.
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7 comments:
"...even man, the infant in his chanting, slips amongst
Your pages." I particularly like this.
Your poem more than does justice to a fantastic image. What more can I say?
I have had products made from this tree ... but I have never seen it. It is a wondrous tree. It looks "giant."
A wonderful morning read, giving long view on paper and story. I liked the sky "arching" and, like Martin, how man enters as a chanting infant.
wonderful tree and poem =)
This is so rich.. what is held within, what is given...and yet to solve the mystery of Hanging Rock!Beautiful...
What an incredible tree - and your verse fits it perfectly!
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