Ghost Gum

When a ghost gum seed
Falls into a small crevice
Of a rocky slope
Where the hot afternoon sun falls
I know the tenacity of life
When a strong tree stands there
Defiant, glorious, stolid

And then I reflect
This is the ghost gum’s home
For the tree, this world is not harsh
Its life is not an act of defiance
But, in a sense, an act of love
Of adaptation
Of acceptance

In this
I find the true beauty of nature
And from this
I learn to see my own beauty
And the perfection of my circumstances