Jane Gibian
from nowhere oversized leaves shoot
roundness against charred ground coal-black
that blackness a ceremonial mourning for the death
of the glacier a dark patch of density
like ground glass in the lungs
a day warms, loosens plaits untwisting
around the shoulders
almost hand-sized leaves of lucid green
emerge from burnt trunks
sandpaper on one side the other velutinous
claret shine of miniature shoots
amongst monsters
enlarged: daylight, termite mound, birdsong
compressed: coolness, moisture, twilight
plants gather clues
that augur combat
the day warms, loosens
disappearing in the restless mosaic
of eucalypt canopy
each leaf extant
holding fast
Jane Gibian is a poet and librarian whose work has been anthologised most recently in Contemporary Australian Poetry (Puncher and Wattman) and Contemporary Australian Feminist Poetry (Hunter). Her publications include tidemark (Vagabond Press Rare Object series) and Ardent (Giramondo). In 2020 she will be undertaking a Varuna Residency Fellowship.