Coastal bush

Coastal bush 

Stepping slow through humid bush
wincing as bracken scratches shins
bare feet crunch on sandy track
pale green thrust of soft new growth
crowns of cycad feather leaf.

Sun and shadow play with time
a wedge tailed eagle swooping down
a startled wallaby, ears alert, turns 
in slow leaps, vanishing swift
into the hush of dense wet leaf. 

Dappled light on acacia plants
shimmering leaves of mottled green
native geranium emerges pink 
stippled rain in a cloud flecked sky
a coastal landscape of dappled things.

The sun emerges. A rainbow forms.
A butterfly nips past black and red
into fern fronds bristling lush and green. 
Then all at once the magpie sings 
warbling for the new born day.

(Published Merimbula U3A book, 2025)