[POEM] Five Poems by John Leonard

These are five poems showcasing some of my different poetic forms: Brown Thornbill Song and Rain on the Mountains are 'beauty in nature' pieces; A Portrait is a love poem to my wife, Caution is a short, sharp epigram and The Wonder is a short, short story in poetry, as usual with me set in a timeless but vaguely classical Greek setting.

Brown Thornbill Song

From a creekside tea-tree, in the length

Of a single phrase, both the present time

And first spring, both youth and joy

And experience, sadness, are caught.

From such a small bird the depth,

Richness of oriole-song almost;

Unexpected, familiar and grateful—

Unlooked for as living-truth itself.

Caution

You have caution, self-doubt, naturally—

But it’s not to hinder what you may do.

You have it so when asked

‘Can you do this?’, you will likely reply

‘Yes, but never to their specifications.’

A PORTRAIT

Autumn light slants down

Through branches and leaves interlaced,

Leaves still green though with

The odd yellow splash moving

In the depth of foliage…

                                                 She sits

Smiling and relaxed, her hair falling

Long about her shoulders, dark

With lighter streaks. The light

Plays about her with every kind

Of green, and some darker blues

And grey in shadows. At her feet

Are dried leaves not from the hazel

Overhead, but blown across the paving.

Her clothes are the leaf-shades

And the tree-clump richer by her,

Completed in shape and spread.

She gazes at the painter and beyond

And takes in everything in her look,

So the season, the light and tree

Are hers, opening from hazel eyes.

The Wonder

It was when a great crisis blew up—though

There had been warnings enough—omens abounded,

And the state was tottering. Their leaders gathered

In the temple, unsure what sacrifices to offer,

What prayers to repeat.

                                       At that moment

A young man of great beauty and radiant person

Happened by, and, being acquainted with the facts,

Quietly told the elders what they must do.

He then when on his way again.

                                                    The correct sacrifices

And prayers offered, favourable portents observed,

They began asking who the young man was,

Some saying they knew him, so-and-so’s child,

And saw him daily, but others maintained

He was one of the gods themselves walking

The earth, instructing us.

                                         And others

Began talking of the wonder that a beardless youth

Knew at once what must be done, when

Those called to lead did not.

                                              It was then

That a greybeard said ‘The wonder was

That when the earth spoke with her portents,

We, children of the earth, did not know

What to do ourselves… without any prompting.’

Rain on the Mountains

There is rain on the mountains;

Iron-grey, pre-spring clouds roll

Over their tops, while bright sun

Plays on glittering eucalypt leaves—

Those leaves tossed by cold winds.

There is rain on the mountains

As the year revives, gladness

Along with it—life that had slept

Now wakes again, and I begin

To live in all my years.

John Leonard is an Australian poet with five poetry collections published. His poetry has been widely published, in Australia, the UK and the US and on the Internet, and some of his poems have been translated into various languages. His novel Shakespeare in Virginia was published in 2024 in London. Website: www.jleonard.net.