Poetry — Issue Two
Native Tree-Invasive Tree
Native Tree
They are seducers those lovely gum trees
the perfume flowing from their groves,
pattered, ribboned bark
twisted arms rising up
to sunbathe.
the perfume flowing from their groves,
pattered, ribboned bark
twisted arms rising up
to sunbathe.
Stunning crowns of blue-green hair
a cloudy mist among the
matchstick branches
or is that smoke
drifting through the grove
a cloudy mist among the
matchstick branches
or is that smoke
drifting through the grove
They sigh with pleasure
as things heat up
gum trees crave new
beginnings just like we do
as things heat up
gum trees crave new
beginnings just like we do
invasive tree
stunning trees
california immigrants
twisting habits
narrow trunks
patterned barks
ribboned surfaces
blue-green leaves
eucalyptus
perfume of forest
drought survivors
fire hazard
life renewers
colonizers
candle bark
living matches
california immigrants
twisting habits
narrow trunks
patterned barks
ribboned surfaces
blue-green leaves
eucalyptus
perfume of forest
drought survivors
fire hazard
life renewers
colonizers
candle bark
living matches
§
Stephanie Johnson has spent most of her adult life overseas living with type 1 diabetes and teaching English literature, ESL and Spanish at universities and adult education settings around the world. Her writing usually focuses on the slightly uncomfortable space of the expatriation/ repatriation experience. She has most recently been published in Authora Australis and force/fields, an anthology published by Perennial Press. She is an associate editor at Novel Slices, and is also a judge for NYC Midnight. While she is originally from Toledo, Ohio, USA, she is currently based in Sydney, Australia.
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