Gulmohur

The Golden wattle

Is in full bloom here,

Ah, what a dream –

The soft spangles of summer

 

But another tree wakes up –

A gulmohur shrouded in gold

In my backyard

From many years ago

 

The grass beneath

Carpeted in soft silk,

And yet more blooms would arise

Like the tree of infinity

 

But in a few summers storm,

My gulmohur leaned

A risk, it had to be felled

And the sun in my backyard was set

When I cried,

The elders consoled

‘Its only a tree’,

‘Its not even a native,’ they assured

 

For many years,

I stared at empty skies

Wondering what brought that migrant seed

This far to home

 

I stare at the wattle today

As if that chapter continues -

Do trees reincarnate?

Do they follow loved ones to their next life?

 

If so, did you choose

To meet that little boy again,

But this time, tables turned

Very wisely

  

You a native of this red earth

And I, a lonely stray visitor

Both completing a full circle

Contained in summer’s gold…

 

23^rd July 2026

 

The Golden Wattle is Australia’s official floral emblem, famous for its bright yellow, fluffy winter blossoms. Native to southeastern Australia, this resilient shrub thrives in temperate climates and inspires the nation's green and gold colours.

The Gulmohar is a stunning tropical tree celebrated for its dramatic canopy of fiery red and orange summer flowers. Native to Madagascar, it was discovered in the 1820s and probably arrived in India around 1840 via Mauritius, where British colonial authorities and traders introduced it near Mumbai as an ornamental shade tree.