(Grace Cossington Smith)

In the trees, a holiness is present. Between the leaves, among
the tangled branches, Grace breathes the stillness.

These trees live in the ancient way: close, branches entwined with the
rhythm of the seasons, now vast, now shallow, now transcendent.

The sky, a leached yellow like faded altar curtains is a halo.
The jacaranda trembles purplish-pinks; the flower clusters

open violet immensities; the petals faith a-blaze. Other trees
are chalices overflowing with leaves, twigs, branches, all green blessings.

Brown square brushstrokes distort a body: a muddy smear, the head
bowed with reverence. Even the gate is incomplete, its structure

diminished by astonishment. With no identifiable human, no ‘I’ or ‘you’ or
‘they’ in this painting, the miraculous, shimmering and wild is known

                                       only to itself.

Living on Bundjalung Country (New South Wales), Peter Mitchell (He/Him) has authored the poetry chapbooks, Conspiracy of Skin (Ginninderra Press, 2018) & The Scarlet Moment (Picaro Press, 2009). He writes poetry, memoir, short fiction, essays & literary criticism. His poetry has appeared in The Ekphrastic Review (US), Eureka Street, The Blue Nib (Ireland), Wild Roof Journal (US), Blue Bottle Journal & Mini-Mega Pack (US), among other journals. Conspiracy of Skin was awarded a Highly Commended in the 2019 Wesley Michel Wright Prize for Poetry (national). His memoir of epic survival, Life with a Shadow awaits publication.