November Sunset

Sun sabres slice the landscape

turning the lake to fire

like an eyeglass in a blacksmith's furnace

it's blinding whiteness drags me

to witness it's fierce sacrifice

Sugarloaf sears under the closeness of the sun's glance

the gums crackle beneath it's angry passing

I leave the lake and seek the river

whose blossom holds the twilight scent

The sun sets hissing

Sweet oil of the gums sprayquenches the shadows

and the air is full of the bush

I follow where I saw it go

hoping for the smell of rain on scorched earth

that speaks to well worn leather

and the roadside crunching under my feet