Antipodean Dryad
words veronica lake
she is of wood, of leaf and twig
bark enfolded, rooted deep in earth,
branches lifted high in supplication
she is of slow steady rising sap,
flowing up, up, up
green with life-force energy
she is of wind-song mystery,
of moonlight falling from a desert sky
dusting powder-white skin
she is of drought, of sun relentless,
of skies vast, of endless blue
tenacious, standing solitary
she is of country remote,
of stone and gorge,
arid sand plains and rusted soil
she is of memory, of history
fleeting moments from the past
whispered movement rarely glimpsed
she is of dreaming eternal,
of healing, of endurance
she is ghost gum spirit Ilwempe
Western Arrernte people call her Ilwempe
Veronica Lake
Living in Walyalup (Fremantle), Western Australia, a place where two winds kiss, Veronica Lake is a Churchill Fellow, awarded in 2010 for the study of Shakespeare. In 2018, her poem ‘Twigs and Sand’ won first prize in the Mornington Peninsula Poetry Competition. Her debut poetry collection, Dragonfly Wing, published by Sunline Press, was released in 2019, and her work has since appeared in local, national and international journals. She lives by the sea and needs it every day.
- ‘Poetry Competition Winner 2025: ‘Antipodean Dryad’ by Veronica Lake’ is published in Anthology Volume 25. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
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