Renewal

The rich copper scent of the earth hangs within the twisted branches of trees-

Crisp morning air nuzzles my cheek with a gentle kiss,

Moisture swelling the cracks of my body, ignored and in need

A mirror of mercury is painted before my gaze; white cloud’s streaked amiss.

Teardrop leaves fall and the instruments of the sky sing

High pitch whistles and deep gulps like a stone thrown in a river-

Arriving on cue, so the drumbeat of my breast echoes the ring.

A crescendoing kookaburra cry flies to the score as flakes of red skin shiver.

Against proud moonlight, black branches hug the stars-

Their stretching limbs weld into the earth’s rusted heart

By morning breath, leather-bark unstitches to reveal orange-streaked scars,

A quilt of wrinkled and bare fabrics- sewn by amber bleeding at their part.

Droplets of light spill like rain through a veil of white-

The golden mother rebirths blankets of moss who sleep on crinkled stone.

A paperbarks’ scorched womb and the green blood of renewed flesh unite

I am rocked in a cradle by the dances of forest bone.

Amidst dusted shadow ripples of orange glow fiercely as the evening sun-

Embers bursting from deep wounds like scarlette moths untamed,

Whisps of blue carry the nostalgia of burning wood smelt when young,

As life and death waltz within ghostlike flame.