The Pohutukawa Tree. Poem by Michael Walker

The numerous pohutukawas are flowering bright red
this month and next in places near the sea.
Shades of red are visible-orange, crimson, and scarlet-
on the spiked flowers which have gold pollen tips

Which make the flowers glow more in the sunlight.
This morning I noticed the thick trunks that may divide
near the ground into branches, with green leaves,
that spread out growing upwards quite evenly.

I noted this morning that these trees vary in height,
from a few metres to others that are much higher.
I know those red flowers will fade away by February
but will be reincarnated next November.

The pohutukawas love the shoreline in the north
where they grow aslant over the ocean water.

-19 December,2017.