Where the Tea Trees Bloom

Early spring, Black Hill, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia

Where the track rises gently
past the kangaroo, supine in meadow grass
watchful and wary, regal in stature
where the bend turns toward the sea
and the gum trees reach the clouds
past the wild flower carpet, orange and yellow
big rock west, looks out over cityscape
where the slope is a blanket of verdant splendour
past the currawong and magpie
past the crow black as midnight
past the grumble of koala
in the gully too steep to climb, sun-filled yellow
and rain-soaked green
open blue
sky view
to the white cap sea below and far away
savoury pepper bush mix with honey sweet
this is where the tea trees bloom.

Peter Penn is an artist living in the foothills of the Mt Lofty Ranges. A graduate in visual art and applied design from the Adelaide College of the Arts, Peter says his painting is inspired by sources ranging from primitive art to pop culture. He is particularly interested in the passage of time and its effects on the physical world, with much of his work falling “between the figurative and the abstract”. And being a devotee “rambler and clamberer amongst the tea trees” has also had no small part, in output written as well as visual. More about Peter and his work can be found here.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected].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.