Clouds in the valley...

I had woken up late to a cloudy Sunday, and given the last pangs of wintry cold that had gripped Sydney, I was wondering if a drive up the Blue Mountains – colder still – would be worth the effort. Nonetheless, we packed into our car and made a move up the Western Motorway, the Blue Mountains looking hazy in a sleepy Sunday stupor in the horizon. I guess, once you make a move on a journey, sun or cloud doesn’t matter – the excitement of a journey helps a lot in outweighing the moodiness of mind and mother nature. I have been a lifelong Orophile – a lover of mountains – and have had the privilege of traipsing across many towns, primarily in the Himalaya, but also in the Alps and the Southern Alps. Travelling today, gazing at the Blue Mountains reminded me of those experiences, seeing the mountains arise in the horizon, be it NH1 from Delhi to Shimla or the Hill Cart Road leading to Darjeeling. The Blue Mountains are not that expansive, yet contain a universe of wonders within, earning...

  There, alone, all by itself Silently in the Garden it stands Elder Tree of antiquity, In even more antiquated lands   How proud you must feel For all to come from far and see - The living fossil that has cheated time Here stands a dinosaur tree   But is that all there is, I wonder Pride, fame, vainglory? What of loneliness, that of life, What of death, that couldn’t be?   The Wollemi seems to smile, While the wind sings through her hair A leaf swirls onto me – In it, her soul’s laid bare   When you have lived for this long age, Your life belongs to the stars, You find your peace in the cosmos’ void Within, there are no more wars   Just peace in every passing wind That no longer has a way You smile at every day that comes – Sun or cloudy day It matters not how far you came How much is left to roam, (Though once awhile you do look back At the mountains that were Home)   I look upon the...

  I saw Spring arrive today In the hearts of mountains deep, Where one by one the rhododendrons Wake up from their sleep   Pink and red, carmine and white The blossoms hue these hills Yes, spring arrives in a million shades While the courting magpie trills   In Blackheath’s shade, for five decades These blooms have sprung anew Outlanders from cold faraways That with the natives grew   Wherefrom they come I do not know But they remind me of my home In the eastern hills of alabaster snow Where often I would roam   The Singba, Varsey sanctuaries As if magicked here this far My eyes well up in this galaxy As I see a familiar star   In the warmth of spring, my heart is healed What more can I ask of You Where trails the mighty ‘bode of snow Starts the mountains Blue   The rhodos, azaleas nod in peace - Some chapters do not end, In between, the waratahs smile In a newfound beauty's blend… ...