Rhododendrons

In neat formations
rhododendrons guard
the half acre order
of our mountain block
and rush their unreal colour
into a landscape just emerging
from winter's cold.

They seem out of place
in the green - brown encirclements 
of native bush where beneath
towering eucalypts 
only an odd acacia accents 
the understory shade
in tiny globules
of palest yellow.

Soon summer will bleach colour
from a drying world.
Borders will wilt
as the bush draws closer.
Here, coiled 
in the shadows of long days,
life sinks
to a shallow pant.
An uneasy quiet 
is menaced by siren wails
and heat.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2022

Poem

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Smith Avatar
December 12, 2022 at 11:40 PM
My daughter gave me one last year. Hopefully it will compliment all the other beautiful things in our garden before too long. Australia has a proud tradition in the field of poetry and you may one day be part of that with your ability to soften what can be harsh yet paint a picture that is true to life. Though no Ausie has ever done justice to what is our side of the ditch. All the best David in NZ
Willason Avatar
December 14, 2022 at 2:56 AM
My grandfather was from NZ so maybe I inherited from him a way of seeing things in the more muted and kindly light as experienced across the Tasman. Although I must confess when I wss there I suffered from too much green...longed for the brown vistas of a dry landscape. Thanks David for yr comments, very much appreciated.
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