The grass is green upon the land, my lawn is clothed in blossoms,
The gum trees dotted on hill and flat are home to crafty possums,
It’s Autumn, lawns and trees and shrubs still fresh, invigorated,
For plants like bees and ants and birds pursue romance elated.

A possum sits near my back fence his loins are agitated,
A female lives not far from here she’s willing to be mated,
Alas! for him she’s made a rule he must agree politely,
Requited love now costs the sum of four gum nuts precisely.

The possum knows that’s just not fair, his … Read the rest

It’s early in the morning before the world has woken
Darkness rules the landscape, while light has yet not spoken
Day slumbers in fitful sleep as night turns its eyes to bed
And in the trees a lone kookaburra announces what’s ahead.
The faintest hint of dawn, a blushing in the east
Soft glow of peach and orange upon the world released
A stirring in the air, a flutter, no more than merest whisper
Sleep claims a night owl, its wise old face bewhiskered
Light winds quiver the tree tops, their message a clarion shimmer
Warning bandicoot and bush rat … Read the rest

Don’t wait for me at the crossing, bro, there is no need for sorrow,
The waters flow quite strongly there and you have your course to follow.
The path you tread on your journey may not be mine to see
For the road laid out in front of me is the only road for me.

We’ve covered so many miles together under bleak and stormy skies
We’ve brushed the snow from off our brows and thrilled to eagle cries,
And watched them ride the thermal waves and hover still and steady
Then arrow down and rise again relaxed but ever … Read the rest

I have heard the doleful howling of the dingoes in the night
and have thrilled to the whistling of an eagle at great height,
I have heard the warning call when a plover guards its nest,
I have marvelled at the creaking of the gums that line the crest
of the hills where the kookaburra laughs majestically,
and enjoins the forest creatures to be glad that they are free.

My dull heart lifts with joy when I witness the peace
of the bush where the songs of the birds never cease.
When the growl of the storm and the flash … Read the rest

Have you ever wondered how the daylight came to be,
How the lichen came to choose to cling on that particular tree,
Have you ever wondered how the bellbird found its voice,
Was it testing out the bush sounds, was it forced to make a choice?
Did the cheeky little wagtail choose his coat of day and night
from the magpie or the pee-wee in their dashing black and white?
Have you ever really wondered why our maker can agree
on the colours of a palette to create the world we see?
Have you wondered why the stars are always … Read the rest

Have you heard the kookaburra light the tall trees with a laugh,
Have you heard a wild horse snorting as he tests the wind’s updraft
Nostrils open, sharp ears flickering, testing danger in the breeze?
Have you caught an early sunbeam rising softly above the trees?

Have you seen a log lie blackened where a fire razed its path,
Have you spent the morning breathing in the magic aftermath
of a night withdrawing slowly to reveal a welcome sight
in the brightness of a wattle spreading gold in dawning light?

Heard the trickling sounds of water busy dealing with the … Read the rest

I wonder about the ways of man and his forceful drive to succeed,
I wonder about the whys of man and what is strength indeed,
I wonder about the ways of birds and the joys of feathered flight,
I wonder about the whys of birds, why some fly day some night,
I wonder about the insect hordes that spend their days in the sun
I wonder why those insect hordes beat at night to a different drum.

I wonder about the ways of the stars that bedeck the nightly sky,
I wonder about the whys of stars their place in … Read the rest

The day is done at last,
The light runs down the sky,
The lagoon absorbs the blast,
as the sun deserts the eye.

We watch the herons dance,
Tai chi performers all,
Deftly configured as by chance,
Their stance perfection’s call.

Fastidious and confident,
Curve of the neck just so,
A punctilio of great moment
Stark lit against the glow.

Images geometric,
Photograph black and white…
The thrust of a cruel sharp beak
Banishes images into the night.… Read the rest

I watch the light on the waters of beautiful Moreton Bay,
Kissing the surface gently as a dragonfly seeking to stray
away from its haunts farther inland, its nature forever obsessed,
A wisp in the early sunlight, seeking meaning in the water’s unrest.

A dragonfly knows no tomorrow, towards time it isn’t inclined,
A day is a concept that never, troubles the dragonfly’s mind,
But deep in the insect’s amygdala, tiny cells with filia obsessed
unearth the deepest emotions covered by shame or distress.

A change in perspective can often banish the time we’re in strife,
Self-realisation can lead us … Read the rest

“The fish are biting, my darling,
I’ll catch you a barra,” he said.
The blankets muffled her snarling,
“Catch a cold more like in your head.”

He tracked through the bog by the river
And stood in the mud on the bank,
The surface lay smooth yet he shivered,
The barra gave his line a sharp yank.

The water exploded in motion
No fish could make such a roar,
The crocodile had taken the notion
He’d savour this human for sure.

The waters lay deceptively silent,
Not a thing disturbed their contents,
The crocodile dozed, nothing violent
Stirred his sleepy … Read the rest

It’s the sound we can’t ignore
Sweat, drip-dripping on the floor.
Foreheads sodden, the news at 7
It’s already 27.

Kids to school, the beds to make
The fan is angry, starts to shake,
Dies at last, its final run,
As the temp hits 31.

Through the window, the garden bed
Flowers withered, droop their heads,
Wizened, stagg’ring to survive
And the mercury 35.

Change the blouse, cheeky shorts
Dripping wet and out of sorts,
Catch the breeze, alas! there’s none.
Is that reading 41?

To the bedroom, A/C on,
Welcoming air, sweat near gone,
Naked ‘neath the breath from … Read the rest

Excitement builds in the early dawn,
And cobs hang rich on stalks of corn,
While bright flowers flare in full display
And birds make ready for the whole foray.

Hail the Chief of the birds around here
Hail the cockatoo so debonair
With crest like Trump of president fame
In sulphur colours he’s here to shame
And strip the corn till it’s maize in name,
Robbing the farmer that’s his game.

A slinky predator preening its locks
Is the quarrelsome noisy flying fox
Busily eating, noisy buffoon,
Dribbling, swaying to Rocketman’s tune,
Blissfully dancing is Kim Jun-un,
Robbing the farmer … Read the rest