Strathfieldsaye, Dja Dja Wurrung Country

i.
creekside—
river red gums
creak

ii.
perched
on a river red gum branch—
an Aussie wood duck 
goes gnaarrk…

iii.
amidst birdsongs—
Eastern banjo frogs
resonate

iv.
I walk along this creek—
all fellow walkers 
say hi

• Ginko is the Japanese term for a haiku walk, which involves going on a walk to find inspiration for haiku writing.

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Michael Leach is an award-winning Australian poet and academic at Monash University School of Rural Health. Michael’s poems reside in various outlets and his two books: Chronicity (MPU, 2020) and Natural Philosophies (RWP, 2022). Michael lives on unceded Dja Dja Wurrung Country and acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land.

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