On a Bench in Mount Annan

Precisely last year–that innocent time
Where fruits well’n trees as hearts well w’rhyme–
My lover and I, on a Bench in Mount Annan–
Divided by miles o’agonised space–
Divided by friendship, modest customs
That keep at arms’ lengths romantic tension
In that purgatory o’unconsummate love–
O, dear Mount Annan, witness to my love!
Surrounded by trees–sparsely populous
From what could have been had we kissed years ago!
Eucalypt leaves–angoph’ra trees
Composing the scenes that render my dreams
Inadmissible taunts to grand real’ty–
That she bridged the divide to cradle dear me.
The wattleflowers that dotted our view–
O, dear Mount Annan, my infinite view!

And what do you need, you foul industries
In choking these pleas–in choking tea-trees?
It seems that now, contemporaneously
That love is as rare as an untainted tree.