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Sydney and gum trees (for a friend)
12/04/2002 12:36 a.m.

 

 

who knows ...... i might even get around to tidying this thing up :))

 

 

Some gum trees shed their bark like mud packs

To reveal a new complexion for summer

Smoothe and grey

From their hundred foot gaze

They overlook the various parts of this city

In which they are planted

 

Though creating carpet for the bush track floor

And much sweeping up in the backyard

They are not deciduous as they always retain some leaves

Afterall, these ‘folks’ must maintain their dignity

 

Most of all, they are familiar with blue skies over Sydney

A good feed by the October rains just before the summer heat,

And the odd nibble from a koala, depending on their location

As well as playing umbrella for the many

Who choose to explore, on two feet or more,

the many tracks through the bush

Which forms part of the city’s environs

 

Those by the harbour see the usual comings and goings

Of any sea port and experience the sounds of aircraft

Large and small as they traverse the skies before landing

At Kingsford Smith, the city’s airport

All against a magnificent backdrop of wavelike architecture

Which is the opera house and, of course, the ‘coathanger’ (for such is its nickname)

Shape of the famous Harbour Bridge

 

The water seems forever blue

and is a watery highway for trade, travel and of course sport,

For people approaching the city from the leafy ‘north shore’

Train and road travel provides a magnificent vista as the Harbour Bridge

Links the north with the city and the south

What better way to start the day than with a glimpse

Of this breathtaking postcard, though for those with their heads in the ‘Financial Review

or taking a quick nap,

the scenery often goes unnoticed

 

Gum trees are great friends with the palms with whom they co-inhabit

The botanical gardens which are right in the heart of the city’s CBD

Still maintaining their room with a view the gardens gently curve around

The outer edge of the harbour and provide lunchtime respite

As well as an educational stroll, through its fascinating array

Of flora, representing many other countries, as well as its own.

 

The gum trees form welcome shade and the palms are exquisite

In their fronded frocks, well that’s good alliteration but really if the palms

Were wearing frocks they would be upside down

…. Mm perhaps they’re doing the can-can

 

Ferries used to chug from shore to shore, but now it’s more of a swish

As the huge catamarans bring in others for whom there isn’t a train route

Or who just prefer the ferry anyway

The famous Taronga Zoo is over on the other shore,

just a short ferry ride away

And there it’s the giraffes who have the magnificent view

For their ‘home’ over(longneck )looks the harbour

 

The summer time brings many visitors and locals to the city

In search of the sea food which is rumoured to be ‘top notch’

Fish (and other) restaurants line the length of Circular quay, and also Darling Harbour

Providing more than adequate choice for those in search of a tiny morsel

Or a ‘slap up meal’

Both areas were, in the city’s beginnings, busy dockland areas

And indeed the QE2 as well as less famous liners and commercial ships

Still dock at Circular Quay

which is also the terminus for the several ferry routes

 

Gums trees are used to swaying with the breeze

And their movement often provokes relief

As it can herald the approach of a cool breeze from the south.

After a day of summer heat the ‘Southerly Buster’ is indeed

A welcome visitor to Sydney

 

Too often in recent years though, they have been the victims

Of fires, willfully lit, which have created havoc for them

And all the creatures of fauna that choose to inhabit their branches

Or shelter in their shade

 

Koalas, kangaroos, the red and blue rosella and green and yellow lorikeet parrots, the sulphur-crested cockatoos and magnificent frogs and lizards

Are just some of those who have lost members of their families

And of course the flora suffer as well

Though there are some species of trees which require the fire

At some stage to open a seed pod to enable future growth

Bush fires are part of Australian life

 

The city’s tower block buildings are numerous

Representing, as they do, this bank and that

As in any other city

One building, recognizable by the fez which it wears

Atop its pole-like figure is ‘Centerpoint’ originally

Known as the Telstra Tower it has now taken on a new name

But for Sydneysiders I think it will always be ‘Centrepoint’

 

Unlike many other international cities today,

Sydney does sleepat night,

though of course it does have its share of insomniacs

Evidenced by the solitary lights in offices and lone travelers on the

Trains late into the evening

The airport closes at 11.00pm each night

And more gum trees than people, I suspect, witness

The arrival of the first planes as they approach the city

For opening time at 6.00am

 

There is exciting entertainment and much cultural activity

Happening in the city but for the many who pile out of offices

And squeeze themselves onto the escalators in the rush to catch a train

A relatively short journey takes them home to houses,

townhouses units in high rise buildings or flats to rent

But wherever you live in Sydney you can guarantee

You’re never far away from at least a view of the gum trees.


I am currently Happy
I am listening to kookaburras :)

Member Comments on this Entry
Posted by Charles E Minshall on 06/28/04 at 04:26 AM

Nice reading Anne....Charlie

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