A Review of the Poem “Jacaranda”: To See the World in a Jacaranda

Abstract

“Jacaranda” is a lyrical meditation on the violet-blossomed jacaranda trees that line Sydney University and Broadway. Through vivid, cosmically tinged imagery, the poem transforms the trees from local flora into emblems of enduring beauty, impermanence, and cosmic order. It juxtaposes radiant bloom with graceful decline, portraying petals that fall “without sorrow” as a dignified carpet beneath “pillars and constellations”. This interplay of light and shadow, serenity and brilliance, frames the jacarandas as living metaphors for resilience amid adversity. Ultimately, the poem resolves in a philosophical vision where “a person, a tree, a star” are equally vast and minute, revealing an infinite, cyclical unity that binds the earthly to the celestial.