white trunk
of the eucalypt
swaying
against blue sky
while the air cools
black and white
shapes flit in and out
of the trees —
busy magpies
six months old
on the breeze
that edge of cold
an aftertaste —
or a presage of
the inevitable
vines mingle —
pale pink flowers
of spring
tricked by autumn, beside
wintry orange blooms
