Australia

Sucking milk through Tim Tams,

our collective chocolatey grins.

Big Ted on playschool,

cattle dogs “doing” the heard.

Sun and nicknames,

hot dry summers,

lawn hose runners,

sand that burns your feet at the beach,

all the kids screech.

Pineapple on burgers.

Zinc on your noses.

Our laid back life style that is oddly competitive too,

taking the piss out of ourselves, me and you.

Not being too stuffy

calling our bosses buddy.

Saying, “Sweet.”

“Moving on.”

“It's happened now, what can you do?”

“Can't change it, even if I wanted to.”

Tall poppy syndrome...

don't we just love knocking people off their thrones.

And we all say crap,

and “fuck,” just to fill some space,

“'ken oath," or “'ken hell",

as we make bongs from garden hoses,

watching never ending fucking Sport:

test cricket,

Aussie Rules,

Rugby League,

if you can understand it at all.

Flies and beer,

thongs and singlets,

those silly Acubra's with the corks dangling down,

not something for going to town.

AC/DC,

sunscreen across your nose.

Y's on the end of good people’s names;

Farnsy,

Barnsy,

Warney, and the rest.

Timmo,

Chook,

and Bluey's the best.

Good humour,

cultural cringe,

beer guts with tank tops,

thongs worn with jeans and jumpers on a cold winter’s days.

Barracking for the underdog in the outer bay.

Public holidays, thumbs up, never enough,

Long weekends full of BBQs,

good friends,

drinking beer.

Unintelligible slang,

shorts and t-shirts,

Winnie Blues up your sleeve,

laughing easily.

Gum trees.

Plum trees.

Sheep and cows.

The Dreamtime.

A roast lunch on a Sunday.

Swimming in the Murray river,

cockatoos, rosellas, king parrots,

“Ya bloody galah!”

Eucalypts,

kangaroos,

spiders and snakes,

Weis Bars,

bindis,

panel vans,

for fuck's sake.

Hot Christmas Barbies.

Bagging out the Kiwis.

The Royal Show,

drover’s dogs,

we love the wogs.

Pavlova’s,

lamington drives.

Kanga Cricket,

Koalas that aren’t bears,

Oi Oi Oi!

Vegemite toast,

suburban 1/4 acre blocks.

Having a whine

how Public Transport is never on time,

or that fucktard’s a swine.

Inner city trendies,

blokes called Wendy.

Storytellers,

Ruth Park, Norman Lindsay, May Gibbs,

Tim Winton, Kate Grenville, Peter Carey.

Bullshitters,

fucken fairies,

Aunty Gwen.

The Dreamtime.

Gum Trees in Europe that make us all miss home.

Bionic ears,

cervical cancer vaccines,

heart transplants,

blackboxes,

the Victa mower, I still have Pop's original in the shed.

The Hills Hoist's that give mum a few minutes of peace.

And everything good that ever came out of New Zealand at any given time.

Fresh Air

No rhymes today,

I did other things, okay.

I walked in the sun,

Felt fresh air like a hug.

My mind serene,

warm light on my skin,

vitamin D for my soul,

the lightness of a stroll.

Social media, online news,

normalising abuse,

madness trying to take hold,

shake it off, be bold.

Jagger

Jagger took 1960's society in his hands,

he took his chance,

saying, Coming with me and dance,

and he never let go,

and we were never the same.

It Is Hard To Care

Do I really care?

It is hard, I declare?

The uninformed have got a voice,

swept up in political power,

demonising the disenfranchised,

worshiping fear,

bringing out the worst in people,

and the worst is winning.

:( 

Come on planet,

snap and take the selfish down,

take the deniers, take us all,

We have lost the right to rule.

Ten seconds to midnight,

five seconds to midnight.

Human beings are too stupid

to live,

shitting all over their own world.

Space

Space,

we all say we want it,

not many of us get it,

not enough time for it,

most of us wouldn't like it

even if we had it,

it is just something to say.

Smile for the Camera

Smile for the camera

with your best blouse on.

Switch to your camera face,

no matter what is going down.

Don’t think of your uncles fingers,

or yesterdays sad dinners,

that you are not a winner,

your lost puppy,

or that you are grumpy.

Look happy

stand straight

don't frown

never pull a face

you look like a clown.

Three, two, one,

everybody smile.

Don’t squint in the sun,

try not to freeze,

say cheese.

This is forever,

you know,

this split second

on show.

Blocked

Let's have a crack

with this and that,

a cat on a mat

how about that?

Does that take you back,

when you first had a crack?

Sitting on mats

in a circular group,

at a table with pencils,

the sun always shining.

The cat was black,

the story was a hack

and that mat,

did I mention the hat?

There we sat, empty vessels

waiting to, wanting to, learn.

Innocents etched on our faces as we sing,

that's MY crayon, so much to take in.

 

Dry

The poetry magic seems to have dried up for a time,

I will certain let you know once it comes back on line

If

If I had wings...

The Truth About Karma

I don't believe in Karma

there are too many successful cunts

in the world for that to be true,

but what can you do?

Be nice to your mum, she’s your number one fan,

She’s the one who’ll always tell you you can.

Be nice to your enemies and your doubters too,

as they don’t care how many ulcers you self inflict,

if you hurt yourself, if your wings get clipped

what path you tread, if you succeed or trip.

Stop for the ducks crossing the street with her chicks,

give to the poor, be nice to the sick,

think of the world with kindness ,

give a smile, forgive those who act with blindness,

help little old ladies, admire the brave.

Let the Golden Rule dictate how you behave.

 

Kindness is the Meaning of Life

I hope life treats you kind

and you have all you dreamed of,

you are never short of friends

and you feel love

from beginning to end.

Do everything with kindness

and the sun will shine

over you forever.

Be kind to those you meet

and be kind to yourself.

And be kind to the world

it will treat you better that way.

They’d Sell Their Grandmothers

They'd sell their grandmothers

Down the river for money,

And then deny it

Three times,

If that’s what it takes,

Even with CCTV footage

They'd say no,

Even when the old lady

Cried out in pain

And asked why,

Eye to eye,

They'd say it wasn't true

As they sliced her in two

The simple truth of the human being,

All but a few

Good men and true

 

You Must Like Beer

No fats

No fems

No Asians

No queers

No Muslims

No terrorists

And no niggers

Or anyone from over “there”

We’re saving our way of life

(sunshine and a fair go?)

Visitors are welcome

But not multiculturalism, (irony, no)

And you must like beer

Cricket and footy

Get a nickname, get a 4WD

Plan for your kids it's your duty

I wanna see me

When I look at you

And I don’t want to smell anything but

Chicken fillets and stew

 

Distracted (extended)

White noise

And all that chatter

It is good for the soul

But with writing it matters

Be silent, be still,

I mean you no ill-will

I think and I think

I can forget in a blink.

I sink

It stinks

My eyes tell my mood

And I won’t want to be rude

But fuck you!

If you continue to exude

I need quiet!

Shhh! Dude!

 

I'm Walking Through Water

I'm walking through water

to get to you

the whole world, it would seem

is pushing against my thighs

as I move towards you

not even knowing

what you will say

Spot The Dog Would Have Been Just As Great

Everybody says John Howard was a great prime minister

His come back was called Lazarus with a triple bi-pass

But he presided over such a period of boom

Lucked into times of plenty, like we’d never seen,

That I am sure you could have put up Spot the dog

And Spot the dog would have been thought of as just as great.

State of the World

The world is going to hell

You think that is dramatic,

I can tell.

Well, let’s look at the evidence

Before us then

Where to begin?

Should I start

Before or after

Extinction?

Distracted

I can’t write

When Sam is around

Another fortnight

And I’ll get something down 

Shine

A poet must rhyme

sometime

get back to his day job

leave the mob

say something beautiful

words full

he might need some quiet

to be inspired

shut the world out

to get deep down

make the folks smile

maybe cry

fell alive

sometime,

and shine.

 

Trickle Down Economics

Told a lie

Privatised

Quantified

Ratified

Jobs denied

The Long, Late Sun

The late afternoon sun

so bright

stretched across the ground

always reminds me

of all the people

in my life who have died

I am not sure why?

Life Long

A few good friends

To the end

Some one to stand next to your graveside

To throw a rose

A life in repose.

Memories of You

The sun is shining

like warm honey

dripping through

the window pane.

The smile in your blue eyes

the lullabies in your voice

the softness of your touch

I can still feel your hand in mine.

Bizarantula

The creepy and the kooky

The ooky and the spooky

The geeky and the fruity

The workers and the suities

The clear and the soupy

Singular or troupies

Bizarantula and me.

Pom, pom, pom pom.

Ode to Fitzroy

Oh? Fitzroy.

You live in the coolest part of town,

gushed the She-Millennial.

Actually, it was hip

When I moved here,

I said,

25 years ago,

When thought I'd

Just discovered it,

Which made the people laugh

Who discovered it

Before me.

And those,

before them.

Fitzroy has always been cool,

the first suburb,

and the smallest

with Brothels,

and Booze,

and Vice, it was a brewing

The poor

The down trodden

Aboriginals, Australia's first fellas

Hippies

Artists

Intellectuals, so amusing

DINKS

Yuppies

Hipsters, coffee brewing

And the great big

rainbow melting pot.

Safe Trip Sam

My baby left

on the midnight flight

It was all rush and go

and I never feel 

like I say enough goodbyes.

Like, you never know.

That final hug, squeeze,

Steal the last glance,

he gives me that special smile,

there on the 5 minute drop off,

eye to eye, look away,

good bye. Look back.

Smile together.

Click, snapshot in my mind.

Cars,

Head lights,

blinkers flashing,

the security guard 

looks my way.

Step back, away,

I take him in

one last time.

Car door,

waving through the sun roof,

looking back,

going, going, gone.

Dying Young

My mate Karl

had a heat attack

at 24, and he is no more.

Life is sweet, life is short

enjoy it while you can,

you never know

when it will end.

He was my friend

he gave me grapes

from his red grapes bowl

in the park we used to skate,

he was a good man,

quirky and kind,

fit and strong

nobody seems to know

what went wrong.

Good friends

are hard to find

and so easy

to lose.

Just like that,

An empty space

Where he used to be.

C'est la vie.

The Truth Is Always Out There

When there is a battle between truth and power,

they say, truth always loses.

Truth, she may lose some of the battles,

battered and bruised,

but the war is always hers.

Truth,

Some say she is a curse.

How can I tell my truth,

when she always gets in first?

How can I say what I say,

When she always raises her hand, that way?

Truth,

Is anyone’s, she is cheap,

She’ll go with you,

For the cost of the facts,

And the admission

Of what really went down.

When there is a battle between truth and power,

they say, truth always falls over.

The rich and powerful

Always get their way,

But truth hangs on

Like a pit bull’s bite.

She never gives up the fight.

Somewhere, some how, some place,

Cough, cough,

From the dark, long forgotten space,

Er, excuse me, please,

But, the facts are these…

I Was Staring At My Phone

I was staring at my phone

I missed the traffic lights turn green

I missed the last car ride for home

I missed a free trip to Rome

I was staring at my phone

I missed the guy who stole my bag

I didn't see the man who might steal my heart

I missed the education that would make me smart.

I was staring at my phone.

I missed the car that didn't see me.

I missed my partner’s heart break in three

I missed him every day missing me.

I was staring at my phone

I missed the guy with the knife

I didn't even feel him take my life

I missed the police telling my wife.

I was staring at my phone

I missed the world passing me by

I missed democracy start to slide

I missed my friend get sick and die

I was staring at my phone

I missed the beginning of world war three

I missed the mushroom cloud rise and float

I missed the planet explode.

How Did It Happen?

How did it happen,

all the money going to the rich,

wealth would trickle down,

they said,

to make it politically palatable,

which, of course, was a trick

The very wealthy own the rest of us

But it is not enough,

They still want more.

What for?

1% own more than everyone else,

And the rest of us don’t seem to care.

Passion

Sailors and strippers

Gamblers and grifters.

painters and sculptors

writers and poets,

Go hand in hand

like day and night,

like colour and light,

like passion and fight.

No Such Thing

No such thing

as too big, or too grand

not in my world

put on your wig

have it curled

throw on some bling

touch your ring

make it swell

and let whatever

unfurl

No Poems For The pothead

Crashing through doors,

And spilling coffee,

On the floor,

Tripping over nothing,

As the hall swerves to the right,

I swear.

Wondering what I came in here for?

Let’s look at online news…

As I eat my breakfast,

Just for a minute…

…those French provincial doors

look sweet,

as dusk falls.

Staring at the screen.

Gosh I’m hungry,

My head is spinning,

Perhaps, I might lie down.

Bloody hell,

This garden

Is so over grown.

Degrees of Bigotry

I don’t think

I could fall in love with a blind man,

The eyes are important, you know,

Windows to the soul, and all.

I guess that is terrible, bigoted.

I’m sure people would buy it though.

Poor Joe, that is no life for a young man

Poor Joe.

Sad

Deep

Empty

Quivering,

Grey

Tingling fingertips,

Aching dismay.

A buzz,

A pulse,

Up and down

My spine,

Stiff neck

Crick, crack

Tunnel vision,

So, black,

Nothing seems real.

Quiet,

Still,

Slow,

Dark,

Firm mouth,

Fixed jaw,

Sour taste,

Loss of grace.

Down,

Heavy

Weight,

Holding

me back

From making an

escape.

Why Won’t You Think Of The Children

Think of the children!

The right wing conservatives wail

When talking about marriage equality.

So important to them is it,

They beat their chests

And insist the world will end.

When the health of the planet

And the future of the world

Is, actually, at stake,

Right wing conservative’s silence

Is deafening

Regarding the safety

Of the children of this land.

Kiss Your Grand Kids Goodbye

The frogs and the bees

Cut off at the knees

Who is next?

Humans think they are blessed

They certainly know

How to put the planet

To the test

If they did it knowingly

Some may be impressed,

But putting everything

At risk through ignorance

And bloody mindedness

Seems like a good way

To say good bye

To the generation

Yet to take its place.

All the wondrous species

Gone to waste

And we still think of self

And don’t seem to care

About anything else.

Truth and Power

When there is a battle between truth and power, 

they say, truth always loses.

Truth, she may lose some of the battles,

battered and bruised,

but the war is always hers.

 

Good Things

Good things

come to those

with the biggest

mouths

Dreams

My best mate at school

wanted to be a dashing ambulance driver,

speeding through the city streets saving lives.

I hear he’s been driving roadside assist vans

for the last twenty years.

Anzac Day

Blow a bugle. 

Wear a poppy in your hair. 

Dress up in old medals 

of distant relatives 

you never knew. 

Whatever you need to do.

Conservative World

Progressive voices are silenced

when the world's fear

tips in favour of the scared.

I Cry Easily

I cry easily, 

but I laugh easily too. 

I love easily, 

I have found great love, 

hearts that are true.

America Profits

America bombs the middle east

for profit,

while taking no responsibility,

for Europe being bombed

with refugees.

Harmony, Not Bigotry

Even nice Muslims

import homophobia

when they seek asylum

Political Correctness

Political correctness,

Is now

Just something

Someone else doesn’t like.

Man's Best Friend

My dog

spins around in circles

when I bring out his food,

he pirouettes and dances,

gratitude to man,

best friends for life.

Freedom

The sky on a string

the world turns below your feet.

Bird's-eye lens

where the earth and the sky meet

floating in your dreams.

Every Kid Should Get the Trophy of Life

Every kid getting a trophy

Is too far to the left

Ideologically, apparently.

Kids getting left behind

Due to budget cuts,

Apparently, is not.

The Really Sad Thing

The really sad thing

If we took all the money spent on war

And spent it on all the people

Everybody could live like a king

The Racist Collective

I love

The happy aboriginal guy, 

I call chip,

He always stops,

and pats my dog at the shops.

He always asks first.

I admire

the wog boys masculinity

Hey mate, friends for life

Just don’t fuck my wife

Muscle cars in the night,

Maybe a fight.

I gaze

at the Asian boys

Happy and sweet,

Violent and petite

Rushing collectively,

To a better beat.

I'm amazed

By the African guys

Tall and hip,

Stylish clothes on their backs,

Always in packs, 

Walking away.

What do I say to the Arab man?

Except, perhaps, sorry

For war and pestilence

Bought down on your head,

Now you struggle to find a bed.

What can I say

to Anglo boys milk fed

Alpha males with entitlement

Homogenous to the last breath?

Can you spare a cent?

For the rest?

Buisness'ocracy

If you think 

The govt is on your side – 

Well, it is nice 

To see such a display 

Of nativity, 

I guess – 

Think again, 

It is survive or die. 

The "folks" are collateral damage, 

Now that democracy has died.

 

Shady Character

You can't trust people

Who use blue and green hi-lighters

They have something to hide

Have You Lived?

Did you skip school

Make prank phone calls

Get set up on a blind date

Call someone a fool

Shoot a gun

Watch someone’s breath begun

Cry yourself to sleep

Watch a pet fall of its feet?

Fly in a plane

Visit another land

Travel to the opposite side of the world

Stand at the Grand Canyon

And call?

Vote donkey

Watch democracy die?

Serve on a jury,

without losing your mind?

Got lost,

Was lost

Scream get lost!

Felt loneliness’ frost.

Play cowboys and Indians

Recently coloured with crayons.

Play cops and robbers,

Have an unnatural fear of clowns.

Sing karaoke, even a duet,

Loud and proud.

Pay for a meal with only coins and sweat.

Laugh until your drink came out of your nose,

Catch a snowflake on your tongue,

Write sensitive prose?

Have a child

Buy a pet

skinny-dip with a friend,

you had only just met?

Go fishing

Gone fishing

Catch a fish

Row a boat

Scream downhill on snow

Ski on the end of a rope.

Fly a kite

Go camping, sleep in a caravan

Pitch a tent,

Ride a motorcycle,

Take a bet.

Bungee-jump into a ravine?

Cuddle in front of a drive-in screen,

Until the glass fogged up,

And you were corrupt.

Did something that could have killed you?

Have a regret that will always be with you?

Ride an elephant,

Smell a camel,

Eat cookies for a day,

Live on TV dinners in May.

Steal a traffic sign, and

Attach it to your bedroom wall?

Like a boy.

Crash a car into a pole,

Get admitted to hospital for 24.

Get locked up by the pigs.

Donate blood.

Get fined for speeding,

get a piercing, get a tat,

buy a four wheel drive vehicle,

like all the other fools.

Buy your dream car

get married

file for divorce

Fall in love

Discover irreconcilable differences

Like all the rest.

Pay for a stranger’s meal,

buy sex just to feel?

Drive over the speed limit,

publish a book

eat snails

Swim in the Ocean

dive with a tank

get smashed?

Fall back to earth?

And love Major Tom

to the end.

 

Man vs Animal

I’d save my dog from a burning house

Before I’d save someone I didn’t know,

But I don’t think it has to be necessarily so.

I’m not an animal liberationist, just an honest smo.

The World Would Be A Better Place

Stop listening to the news

It will only make you confused

It shouts loud, serious, never funny

Because that is how they make their money.

Effeminate

Dollish

Wispish

Kiddish

Minxish.

Impish

Lispish

Swish, swish,

Fingers click

Gone in a jiff.

The Bore

Boring man

Talks all he can

You didn’t see

From where he sprang.

You fidget and jig,

Just a bit,

Look at you watch,

Scratch your head.

You’d run,

if you could,

but you tune out

instead.

Roll your eyes

At worst

Wish for death,

His, not yours.

A run away truck

Before he begun.

Old age

The way

His story

Is spun.

A terrorist

With a gun.

Amen.

Hipster

Dish, dish,

A foodie wish.

Swish, swish,

“Oh the boorish!”

Bitch, bitch,

Eat the clawfish

It is hip.

Trend

This is the coolest shit,

It flashes and moves a bit,

It is the latest “must have it.”

Until the next one hits.

Moral Outrage

Moral outrage 

is alive and well 

throbbing like the artery 

of our conscious hell

Secret Government Business

Secretive

Governments

Corrupt

Brave New World

The news

Is provided

By PR machines

University research

Is paid for

By business teams

The internet 

Is used

For TV screens

Welcome to

The brave

New world.

Where the truth

Is re-conceived

For you

And me.

On 24 hour

Repeat.

Wonder Bread

We remove the heart and soul from wheat

We grind up what is left into zombie flour

White and fluffy and sweet.

And then we wonder why we are all obese?

Wonder why we are all fat and pale and weak.

What's in a Name?

Patriot and terrorist

they are the same thing

disenfranchised and scared

trying to claw back 

what they think is theirs.

The end always justifies the means.

 

Breaking Hearts

I pick up boys from the bar

I think it is funny when I break their hearts

It makes me feel really good

it makes me feel how I think I should.

You know, it is a game I play

You are all fair prey

All is fair, as they say

I can only love this way.

Excuse me, you all know the rules

You can't claim to be anyone's fools.

Sitting there on backless stools

Propping the bar with the other fools.

Standing on the front line

“Innocence,” you say. “Is mine!”

Your guile is sublime

Hanging on the meat rack divine.

Golden Sun

Golden sun in the morn

You're shaky and forlorn

Red sun at night

You're as high as a kite

Showing Bulldogs in Bendigo (a.k.a. racists in Bendigo)

They show bulldogs in Bendigo

And somehow pretend

That their views of fear

Benefit mankind.

They pass off their ignorance

As caring for their fellow man,

All the time putting “different” down,

For what reason, who knows?

They make a big deal

About people who burn the flag,

As if that means anything at all.

asking for laws to be passed,

that suit their world view.

They don’t like what “they” wear,

especially if it covers “their” hair,

the god “they” follow

they only like theirs, which is shallow.

They don’t like “their” food,

They don’t like “their” mood

They don’t like “their” beliefs

They say are crude.

It is with great concern

That they speak out for the truth,

Their white, middle class

Anglo Saxon ignorant remarks,

That somehow becomes a fear

Of anybody not like them,

Even though they’d deny it

To the very end.

They put down anybody

with who they don’t agree

speaking double talk

so understanding can’t be achieved,

which they wear as a protective cloak,

accusing the accuser

of the crimes they commit,

so they never have to

give an explanation

to which they have to submit.

They are ignorant of their ignorance

But I’m sure that suits them just fine,

They don’t want to understand,

They just want to react, and stay blind.

Anybody who goes into reasons why

Deeper than they are comfortable with,

They claim not to understand,

Bleating social engineering, of the worst kind.

And from all of this ignorance,

From all this fear they make a stand

As they show bulldogs in Bendigo

Aint that grand.

At Least I Am Kinder

I don't need you to disapprove of me, 

if that is all you have to offer, 

I'd rather be on my own, 

where I can disapprove of myself, 

at least I am a little kinder.

The Great Country

You can’t ever be a great country

if you don’t take all of your people

to greatness

James is a Queer

James is a queer

he calls everyone dear

but the biggest cheer

is holding Nick by the ears

There's been tears

And many beers,

over the years

to get to here,

I even consulted a seer,

my dear!

who told me not to fear.

But at least I know

who I am now,

and who I want to be,

says James,

as Nick bends to tie his shoe

and James whistles.

 

What Makes Me Cry

It is never acts of tyranny

that make me cry

it is always acts of humanity

that bring tears to my eye