Picus, you Paradise yaffler!
You merciful, mossy,
pea-green-Perfect!
Did you really dart
across this dulled lens
of pain-stained perception?
Was it you who graced
my morn of mourning
in the ghostly eucalyptus tops?
Who laughed away the tear clouds?
Who splintered the sun
with your Divine Deca doses?
Oh you marvellous,
mindful,
unmelodious
maverick.
Heidi Stephenson
Illustration: Claire Palmer