Best Australian Poems
“Hi Sexy”, I said to
The giant beaked black emu;
The next thing I recall,
Big yellow beak heading
At me, full speed ahead
And I quickly stepped back.
Stalled claws gripped the ground;
Halting bird staring;
Obsidian eyes
Screamed in confusion;
Rejected big bird emu;
Approached slowly.
I held out seeds,
His feelings hurt;
Still, he ate them.
We remained
Friendly and
A few more
Seeds he
Partook;
Dined.
I raised an Australian dingo,
no name came to mind but Ringo;
he jumped on me,
ripped my clothes daily...
it costed me plenty of money!
Only once I left him alone;
good grief... my furniture was torn!
Oh, should I be mad...
or be kind instead?
I'll sleep over it for tonight!
All Ringo did was run, bark and howl,
mistaking a small cat for an owl;
They took him away
to the zoo today;
he'll whimper form his cage, not rest!
I'll take him back, lest he behaves;
his lesson he'll learn: good manners!
Now, Ringo just stares
to earn forgiveness...
it's fun to play with him and laugh!
On my bike, fifteen gears by derailleur
I set off on my trip round Australia
But the weather was hot
Blisters grew on my bot
So the journey became quite a failure
Have you heard of a brand new bliss
An Australian Kiss is the wonder
It's just exactly like a French kiss
Except for the fact it's "down under"
Blessed are the Seasons that come and go
Summer days of rapture on hot burning sand
Blessed is Mother Nature as passions flow
Warmed by the sun pulsating savage land
Many human beings consider me an animal that’s beautiful.
I am one of those mammals classified as a marsupial.
Some people call me an “Australian teddy bear”.
However, “koala” is the proper moniker I wear.
This continent down under is my native home.
To other places in the world I do not want to roam.
All of you zookeepers, please don’t take me away.
Here in this land you call “Australia” is where I want to stay.
Robert Pettit
January 24, 2013
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY
“We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land.
We recognise the past atrocities against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this land and that Australia was founded on the genocide and dispossession of First Nations people. We acknowledge that colonial structures and policies remain in place today and recognise the ongoing struggles of First Nations people in dismantling those structures. The struggle to seek justice, to remember and address this nation’s past is ongoing and is a necessary requirement for individual and collective healing process.
We support the Uluru Statement from the Heart to achieve justice, recognition and respect for First Nations people and a referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Constitution. We accept the invitation contained in the Statement to walk together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”
“A Darker Shade of Light”
(First Nation Australia from mind of whitefella)
My people
see your people
simple ignorant
crazy greedy
black cockatoo
laughing eyes
smiling angry
all seeing
spit signature
fingers spread
on hands pointing
bones at my people
ochre powder
yellow cake
red earth bleeding
white fella
yellow belly snake
blowing out
the fires of our
stolen children
torn from our
mob, not yours
swallowed
by your
gadaidja fangs
sinking into the skin
of our land
poison
all around
greedy gubbah
when will you
understand
our nation
not your flag
(LadyLabyrinth / 2023)
There I was standing at the Pearly Gates
I was so excited to learn my fate
First, they sat me down
On my head a crown
Then the question ~ What are your pronouns, mate?!
Look at yourself Mr Hunt!
How can you be trusted.
Appalled by indoor comments of a prisonary view.
Native species fade through the mass destruction of our lands,
Yet you in the veil of science
Conserve a ruthless plan.
Poison takes on innocents
Have you not learned life's lesson
To see myxomatosis ravage, rage and burn in the devil's reflection.
Yet you. Oh no! Yes you
Believe that what you do is best
For future preservation, to ensure your culling's met
By eager fools in genocide
On the islands of your shore.
The year 2020 you will celebrate I'm sure.
But me and others like me
We grow older by the day
Bardot tried to implore you
In an intellectual way.
Blighted by your lack of vision
To impose a steady hand,
To inject mass steralisation
That would retain you as a man.
The slow death and the shooting,
Toxic meat wrapped up in plunder.
Roll up. Roll up conservation
In the land we call down under.
Ruby’s red
Sapphire’s blue
Emerald’s green
October’s birthstone flashes all
Huberta van Akkeren
Thursday, 10 April 2014
Nette Onclaud’s competition: Just ten words
The animals wailed to the almighty king of the jungle,
"We broke our slumber and found ourselves in flames of raging fire
Thee save my fawn from the danger,
Caused by the foolish sapiens".
The lord of the jungle leapt into the blazing fire
Hither and thither in search of the fawn,
Could not find it and got underneath the tree,
Wrenched in flames of the fire, with bruises all over.
The furies soon took over the soul of the mighty
And Hades rewarded Elysium to the dead
Said, "Oh mankind, what you did!"
There are mysteries
on the island down under
very intriguing.
Copyright © Cynthia Jones
July.26/2007
I have a few mysteries to tell you about Australia.
NATURE’S SINGLE DADS:
THE AUSTRALIAN EMU
The next sixteen months:
CRR-ACK ~ “That’s loud,” he exclaims getting up on his legs, so knobbly and thin.
He looks down to the ground,
where he first heard the sound,
and says, “Now it’s your turn to begin.”
Hours go by, as each little chick tries to break free of its protective cover.
They all work their way,
throughout the long day,
then all greet their father-come-mother.
For his new family he breaks the last shell. To his fluffy striped chicks, he’s their mother.
As they grow older under Dad’s shoulder
he will nurture, each sister and brother.
In time, they will leave his home on the dance floor; a single dad, with chicks he will roam.
With high steps he will prance.
They will learn every dance
for survival, before he goes home.
With the changing seasons, Emund finds reasons to leave his young chicks on their own
Others join with his brood
now there’s plenty of food,
Emund turns and again, he’s alone.
Not taking the chance of being late for the dance Emund picks up his speed on the track.
They won’t meet at his gate
if he gets home too late
to dance to the rhythms of the outback.
The Australian Emu; one of Natures' Single Dads worthy of a mention for the survival of the species in the extremes of the outback.
Through this happy season, when everything is green and blue,
we won't see snow-capped hills, or mountains,
only brooks and rivers bubbling in sun rays;
lay down on their bends and hear their music as children do!
An Australian spring is unique and beautiful, everybody
is welcome to join us in song;
bring your flute, guitar and drum...
make music in jovial air while it harmonizes with serenity!
Through these four short months,
feel lively and observe the eager butterflies kiss wildflowers,
but an occasional rain may fall from the vagrant clouds...
see its gentle raindrops delight open eyes!
An Australian spring is unique and beautiful,
especially in the wilderness and countryside;
down here, isn't spring unforgettable?
Let's run faster than kangaroos that seem to glide!
The Australian Swagman
Justin was a Swagman
Not by chance but circumstance
A product of his time
He carried his life upon his back
And never asked for more
Than a chance to earn a meal or two
In payment for a chore
He had no need for guidance
For he knew the road ahead
Just a nice quite Billabong
And a place to rest his head
The little fire was home
With the billy on the boil
As night fell on that Billabong
He found the peace that he was seeking
Now he’s gone down that long dusty road
And we are poorer for the loss of such as he
As another legend passes into obscurity