The Gnomes Have It!

The Blackwood* Council filled the hall

With cardboard voting booths

In straggly lines against the wall;

Who would Oz voters choose?

 

Two gnomes perched high on window sill

Peeped through the drapes half-drawn

Watching Aussies queue and mill;

To influence or warn?

 

Time for change with artful moves?

Cross-benchers and the Greens

Make Liberals their seats now lose;

While 'Teals'** burst on the scene!

 

Those oscillating now decide;

Results - not unexpected

 ‘Labor’ may have a smooth ride

New faces are elected!

 

But who put those two gnomes in place?

What do they represent?

Inscrutable, each smiling face

Still hides their true intent!

(c) Poet in the woods

* Blackwood, South Australia is experiencing frequent 'attacks'  by the Gnome Warrior!

** Teals - new group of more moderate liberal independents

Poetry in Motion!

Hello and welcome to my prose!

My poems seem to catch all those

Who, unbeknownst, land on my site

And stop to ponder what I write…

 

So, who reads poetry today?

You clamor "it is SO passé!"

But short and pithy – you’re not bored

Hence it survives and strikes a chord!

 

Take politics and stop-press news

Or quirky items that amuse

Disasters – God-sent or man-made;

Whatever - I am quickly swayed!

 

Religion, lawlessness and crime,

Bedevil our poor human mind

They form the grist that fuels my mill;

My Muse, unchecked, goes where it will!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

An old grist mill - the beauty of metaphor!

Australia Votes - 21st May, 2022

Long lines of posters span the hedge ...

Do TV pollsters have the edge?

Leaflets flutter at the feet

Of Adelaideans who now meet

 

To cast their vote this Saturday

Will Blue, or Red-and-Green, hold sway?

Six-week campaign draws to a close

With all the hopefuls on their toes…

 

Every State boasts media hype,

What will convince, come voting night?

Top candidates clock up air miles

To greet Oz punters with sharp smiles!

 

Will voters opt for status quo

Or will the Liberals have to go?

“Time for change, we have new plans.

The economy needs Labor’s hands!”

 

Can independents now break through?

The Greens push climate change anew…

With age and child care costs too high

Many now can scarce get by …

 

Housing and wages should increase

And should coal mining projects cease?

The jury’s out – we lie in wait

For this evening’s fierce debate!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

L: Liberal Leader (now former PM): Scott Morrison

R: Labor  Leader and now 31st Oz P..M: Anthony Albanese 

Some Aussie Walkabout Sights

Impressions flood my inner eye:

Sparse, rugged shrubs their twigs bone-dry

Near perfumed roses which waft scent

Disordered loveliness – well spent!

 

Agapanthus - past their best - bow low

While crouching stragglers steal the show

Artistic trees provide scant shade

On tracks that Burke and Wills surveyed …

 

On all sides, tufts of hardy grass

Rainfall is brief - here Nature’s harsh;

Cypresses solemn near quaint station

Perhaps a Tuscan innovation?

 

Scarlet clumps of bottlebrush

Though overall, they’re past first flush;

Bold native species dominate

In this, the Nation’s driest State.

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

The Bottle Brush Tree - Myrtaceae

Whither Mining in Australia?

God knows Big Island feels heat strains …

Low pressure now brings feisty rains;

To replenish reservoirs is fine

But gullies overflow big time!

 

Poor vision under stormy cloud

Noontime dark casts heavy shroud;

When views ahead are just a blur

Traffic accidents occur …

 

Australia – land of extremes

Where being close to Nature means

Devastated regions overnight!

Man’s touch, though well meant, is kept slight.

 

Mining ores have made it rich

But climate change means punters switch

Their allegiance for this vote*

Against new mines in sites remote …

 

Tasmania’s forests under threat;

Tungsten and lithium projects get

The go-ahead from Lib. PM**

But is this just a ploy pro tem.?

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

* General Election to be held in Australia on 21st May, 2022

** Liberal P.M. Scott Morrison - who lost the election to Labour leader Anthony Albinese ...

Beautiful Tasmanian Rain forest

In the Adelaide Hills

Living “upside down” affords new views

Autumnal tints inspire my muse

Though eucalypts stay bold and green

Maples glow with russet sheen.

 

The Angas Vale turns burnished gold

Though breezes whisper, it’s not cold

As tourists, mostly locals, come

For tea or coffee in the sun.

 

School holidays are at an end

Now Oldies venture out to spend!

Quaint Stirling hidden in the Hills

Reverberates with ringing tills!

 

Winding roads, tree-lined, rush past:

Late afternoon sees shadows cast

On tarmacked roads, with in-filled cracks

Here reigns the peace that Europe lacks …

 

It’s picture-postcard all the way;

Where scattered village stores display

Modern snacks beneath old signs

Reflecting life in bygone times…

 

Has time stood still, or do I dream?

The Hills round Adelaide can mean

A kaleidoscope of leaves unfurled

Unruffled in this hectic world.

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Around Pinera

The magpies swoop and snatch up crumbs

No wind, yet soon the storm cloud comes

As the arid landscape begs for rains

To render emerald barren plains.

 

Stringy bark and pale-pink gums

Ragged walkways, traffic hums …

A sense of other-worldliness

Blue skies that welcome this lone guest.

 

On railway bridge Pinera way

Two-carriage train in red and grey

Two tracks, but only one still shines

Methinks this once knew busier times!

 

The “yards” on Main Road colour-coded

Reds and blues all sun-imploded

Autumn’s fiery palettes burn

As glory vines are on the turn…

 

This modern city suburb’s creek

Lies silent, parched, stone-filled and bleak

I’m told the winter rains will flow

And form cascades and pools below.

 

For now, however, all stays dry

With scarce a cloud in sapphire sky

Birds catch my eye as they fly low

Enjoying Nature’s vibrant show!

(c) Poet in the woods 2022

Pinera station is on the Belair Line to Adelaide.

This poem was printed in "The Blackwood Times" in Adelaide (2022)!