Burnside Tree (Eucalyptus Camaldulensis) Poem by Danny Draper

Sensors trip the doors,
consumers are exchanged, a
Breath of the world rushes in,
sighs, and is truncated.

A triumph for development,
over the audacity of democracy, a
Marvel the sanitary dendrium,
seamless in situ transfer.

Drip irrigation and drainage,
sustain the containerised roots, a
Limitation addressed by fertilizer,
a pot, a cell, a sentence.

A timber deck surrounds,
suspended over rootplate, a
Trees’ flesh promises mortality,
Delivering freedom to breathe.

Mulch and root trips absent,
leaves and sticks a nuisance, a
Constant source of debris,
spoiling pristine artificial paradise.

Never again the wind or rain,
to rustle or clean its crown, an
Emptied abode by bark and branch,
A sterile, solitary confinement.

Commercial ventures come and go,
nature thwarts currencies flow, a
Burden engineers must overcome,
to beige the green to prosper.

Glen and plain by Kaurna glance,
Sabre winds off Southern Ocean, a
Valance the glass and steel,
indignant spirit of endurance.