The wilderness

In this lyrical meditation the narrator walks through a once‑tended garden now reclaimed by the Australian bush, where rust‑red gums and towering ironbarks mingle with wild roses, fruit trees and a profusion of native blossoms. The prose paints the scene in vivid detail: mauve mist over cedar, golden wattles flashing through tangled undergrowth, and a creek that hums with the lives of frogs, bandicoots and countless insects. By listening to cicadas shedding their shells and paper wasps building intricate nests, the reader feels the pulse of a landscape that thrives without human hands.

The work becomes a quiet celebration of the ecosystem’s hidden marvels, from the delicate larvae that crawl over mistletoe to the dazzling turquoise Papilio butterflies that later dance above cultivated flower beds. It honors the original gardener’s love for native plants, noting how silver wattles, pittosporums and Christmas‑bushes continue to bloom, their fragrance and colour marking the seasons. The narrative invites listeners to pause, observe, and rediscover the simple wonder of a wilderness that has gently taken back its own.