Autumn’s Close, Winter’s Close

Long Gully, Adelaide Hills, South Australia

At autumn’s close and winter’s close
along park’s long gully
strangers with nods, waves, smiles, quick words
at safe distance-passing
late autumn sun warmed late winter sun warmed
autumn shade chilled winter shade chilled.

Each step passed cascading beauty
of life and death in nature;
stretch of man’s green field
contrasting
impenetrable slope of climbing ivy and wild berry
the still green mingling with seasons’ turning shades;
dramatic statues, broken, open,
their white grey stark against sky and bush;
red, gold, orange leaves turning mulled brown
in rain’s damp shallows;
a thousand mushrooms
emerging from leaf and woodchip,
multi-hues curling in decay presenting papery gills.

Late afternoon light
bright mere days before
now dull reflection fading early.

Amidst changing seasons,
bandicoot, echidna, emu, kangaroo, koala,
galah, parrot and wren
continuing to delight,
at safe distance-passing,
at autumn’s close, at winter’s close.

Phil Saunders has been based in Adelaide since high school days, with forays into Melbourne, Christchurch and Sydney. He’s currently a consultant in governance and operations quality control across disability and aged care, and writing has been at the core of his professional and personal life as a script writer, copy writer, policy officer, magazine and report editor and poet.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. Submissions should be in the body of the email, not as attachments. A poetry book will be awarded to each accepted contributor.