Green to Brown

Mount Painter, Canberra - in October and then December (Canberra experienced record heat in November 2009 with an average day temperature throughout the month above 30 degrees)

this is no gentle autumn smile

to colour the slip of an ageing year

and after the cool generosity
of early spring rain
there was a certain prospect
that the greening of the land
was more than just a transient flush

but dashed in days
this frown of burning brown
colours more than the changing hills
as the thought of summer heat
sweats at an already exhausted body

Richard Scutter 20 November 2009