On a park beside the Murray
on a state park boundary,
amongst red gums and black box
and the silver wattle tree,
there’s a place to go exploring
with a thousand things to see,
on the weekly Thursday ritual
for Gary, Tom, and me.
We’d sit and watch Tom wander,
speak about a boundary tree
that’s significance in history
is for the local aborigine.
There are markers in the river
for the boat fraternity,
and a place with peace and quiet
for Gary, Tom, and me.
But the first call for our Tommy
was to cock his leg and pee,
on a red gum that’s still growing
to leave his message; ‘this is me!’
And before it’s time to leave
it’s back to have another wee.
That red gum on the Murray will,
always be, Tom’s memorial tree.
Categories:
red gum, remember,
Form: Rhyme
Ghostly grey in death.
Lifeless arms and leafless.
Drowned by times erosion.
Change forced by the grief-less.
You were here before me;
a timeless guard and river guide …
once you steered the course,
standing proudly river side.
Still, you’re home to many travellers,
for 'tis the water they must follow.
Now a stark island wayward stop
or a haven with a hollow.
Stand your ground, oh Red Gum,
against the tide which caused your dearth,
where generation after generation,
preceded you to mother earth.
Categories:
red gum, nature,
Form: Rhyme
Love Potion
Add chinchilla fur at the end
Two cups of cold water
Ice
A pound of sugar
A clove of garlic
Four cinnamon sticks
A package of Big Red gum
A teaspoon of curry powder
A bunch of fresh parsley
Five lb bag of white rice to throw all over room and bed
Add some cotton candy
Categories:
red gum, color, conflict, culture, heartbroken,
Form: Free verse
Ankle deep water, ebbing, seeping
From melting ice to flood is leaking
To form a rapid river flowing
Ounce by ounce this stream is growing
To wash into an oval pool besides
Then rush to meet the rising tides
Of oceans deep and full and wide
Where froth upon the billows ride
Upon a yellow sandy shore
Where shells collect up by the score
Displayed in jars in seaside shops
Among golden pears and red gum drops
From mountains high and oceans deep
Where eagles soar and dolphins leap
From high above to down below
So much beauty to love and know
Categories:
red gum, happiness, hope, inspirational, life,
Form: Couplet