Queen of the Street
David Kennedy
Nine decades from seed, a grand frangipani
counts the waning hours of May.
Sunlight teases the yard. Rusty leaves float
and pale pink blooms fall as a scented quilt
unfurls on the lawn below; a patchwork
of cherry clusters foretelling winter’s charm.
She is time’s witness to mauve hydrangeas
in midsummer bloom, the birth and death
of picket-fence civility, and Californian bungalows
razed by greed. Nature’s key-change still comes,
but the show starts early now — the cuckoo
plays messenger while the season holds.
David J Kennedy is a poet and non-fiction writer based in Sydney’s Inner West. His recent work appears in Roi Fainéant Press, South Florida Poetry Journal, and The Jupiter Review, with poetry forthcoming in the Lovers Literary Journal. He holds Master’s degrees in Ageing (University of Melbourne) and Business Administration (University of Canberra), while themes of ageing, nature, and sustainability feature prominently in his writing. David can be found on Twitter @DavidJKennedy_ or running breathless laps of Iron Cove Bay.