1. BLOSSOM
heat wave –
frogs yell in chorus
blossoms dry
2. EVERGREEN
comforting
sea of evergreen –
Australian bush
*
from the lookout
grey-green vista blends
hills and gullies
3. WILLOW
from a willow branch
enclosed in green curtains
the swing Dad made me
4. PETAL
remembering
my husband – a petal
drops from the rose
5. ROOT
prompt: root –
my naughty Aussie mind
tries to think ‘plants’
*
that tree –
a weed not pulled up
by the roots
*
here in the tropics
how I miss
the taste of parsnips
6. THORN
beneath
the fullest bloom
the thorn
*
a sideways push –
the rose thorn snaps off
instantly
*
my father’s roses –
thorns and aphids but
that scent!
*
7. SAPLING
thin sapling
clinging precarious
spider-web
