October 10th, 2025Local Lines

Sipping shiraz

Winter arrived with a vengeance
Lashed out its forked tongue
Laced with ice and snow
Laid its wet blanket
Over a parched landscape
Desperate for a taste of moisture

Kangaroos leave the safety
Of the forest
For grass that lines the highways
Oblivious to the danger
Of speeding traffic

Their dead bodies are everywhere
Topped by black crows
Who scatter with the buffeting wind
Of passing trucks

I have felt the harshness
Of this winter
It seems determined to enter my bones
Remain a stubborn visitor

In six weeks it will step aside
Allow spring to spread its wings
Let the sun burst through
Lay a pink tinge
Over a frozen ground

Already buds are pushing
Their earth blanket aside
Anxious to show their resilient faces
Not to be beaten by a determined foe

Eventually the sun will arrive
Like a fiery ember
Over the horizon to spawn its warmth
Like a blast from a furnace

In the meantime
We huddle around the fire
Sipping shiraz

Kevin Mutton

Kevin is a Trentham poet who has been writing poetry for fifty years. He is always inspired by what happens around him.