Ghostly Gum

Dirt with a powdered texture magnetises to skin,

Leaving nature's touch on every inch of exposed limbs,

Bark reaching up a tall trunk,

Resting against my back, the tree skin forming in chunks.

Peeling off the naked branches,

Creating an ant’s woody mansion,

A sturdy support for a sore back,

Shade dappled over where the sun does lack.

Bright, sturdy, tall with pride,

Ghost gum reaching out wide.

To think soon we must give it all away,

To the brutal bushfires coming summer's way.