Poets Corner – September 2025

Wind whistles through hollow logs

where sugar gliders hide for shelter
swirls dry bush debris and leaf mould
disturbing an earthy odour of decay
now drawn into its hungry wake.
Eucalypt branches bend
like stooped old men
leaves tremble, some fall
as a discordant rustle
menaces the forest crown.
Savanna grass flattens
buffeted by savage assault
bearing the burden
of potent strength and force
and power lines hum in the air.
A needle-sharp deluge
fuels the rising river
its once glassy surface
whirled by brute-power and ferocity
shaped by the beast’s embrace.
Wood creaks, rain drums on glass
resisting the rage of the predator
repelling violent energy
as children cower under quilts.
Dogs bay into the darkness
as jagged dragon-fire flashes
and the creature rumbles an echo
with thunderous portent.
*
Morning clouds suffuse silver glimmer
the monster’s fury spent
soothing sounds of chirping crickets
the sigh of dripping leaves on trees
the ripple of water slipping through rocks
bring tranquil silence to calm the soul.
And stillness settles like a long-held breath.