Rainy-day pilgrims

Winding west
on Wootton Way,
we’re seeking

The Grandis.

Microbirds shoot
across the tar

and crows call
for roadkill.

In misty dips where
vines grope

toward the line and
moss

hugs the shoulder,
palms play it cool.

We enter the grove

of flooded gum
with its pale green
telegraph-pole trunks

but at Stoney Creek Road
the way’s closed

to us.