Wishing Well for Cardinal Pell

Tags

Australian poet, Cardinal George Pell, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

Wishing Well for Cardinal Pell

He had the cheek to question climate change!
Opposed the vote to let same sexes wed!
Conservative! Damn! For a priest that’s strange;
The Pope himself is several shades of red.
He wasn’t keen on Pell, or so it’s said.
Perhaps he’s happy Pell is in the can,
And sleeping on a rock-hard prison bed.
One victim’s claims enough to sink the man;
But after all the crap the papers ran,
What jury would have let the guy walk free?
There’s nothing like a sex scandal to fan
The flames — appeals? We’ll have to wait and see.
But I don’t like his chances — I confess,
Each day I value “justice” less and less.

— D.N. O’Brien

Pell found guilty

Scheming Memes

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Australian poet, Facebook memes, limerick, Limerick poem, Limerick poetry, Memes, poem, poetry

Scheming Memes

You “like” memes on Facebook? Good for you!
Having said that — I’ve seen quite a few
That I know are just lies,
So I’d tend to advise
You — make sure the meme’s message is true.

— D.N. O’Brien

The Isle

Tags

Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Fanaticism, Formal poetry, Insane States, poem, poetry

The Isle

There is an isle of sanity
Surrounded by an insane sea;
And on its wicked wind-whipped waves
There sail the ships of Satan’s slaves.

The slaves look to the island’s shore
And make their plans for holy war.
The sane upon the isle they fear,
Yet to destruction still they’ll steer.

For they believe the isle does mar
Their chosen hell – Its sacred star,
Its symbol, they will rend and smash;
They’ll burn the hated isle to ash.

So many times they’ve tried and failed,
But sanity each time prevailed.
But mad men driven by mad dreams
Will not abandon their mad schemes.

And though it’s plain that they will fail,
Their ships they’ll man — the isle assail,
With faces masked, black flags unfurled —
The navy of the underworld.

— D.N. O’Brien

Parasites

Tags

Australian poet, Drenching gun, Formal poetry, Freeloaders, Parasite hosts, Parasites, poem, poetry, Triolet

Parasites

Eventually something must be done,
Or else the parasites will kill the host.
And whether with a pill or drenching gun,
Eventually something must be done.
Freeloaders have been hiding from the sun,
Deep in the innards — there they must be dosed.
Eventually something must be done,
Or else the parasites will kill the host.

— D.N. O’Brien

A Lost Mind

Tags

Australian poet, Feeling sorry for yourself, Giving up, Losers, Losing attitudes, Negative thinking, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet, Victim culture

A Lost Mind

It’s not my fault – I had an awful start.
What chance had I to ever see success?
When I think of my woes it breaks my heart;
No wonder all my dreams are in a mess.
What happened to me? – perhaps you can guess:
I’ve been unlucky since I was a kid –
No luck at all – I couldn’t have had less.
I tried so hard – no matter what I did
It came to nothing, for I couldn’t rid
My mind of all the failures in my past.
And so I shut myself away and hid,
And so had nothing left to lose at last.
But all your losses in the past are dead;
They only live within your loser’s head.

Dry Country

Tags

Australian bush poetry, Australian deserts, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Bradfield Scheme, Bush Poetry, Flood, Formal poetry, Paroo River, poem, poetry, River diversion schemes in Australia

Like inland seas that stretch to far horizons,
The swirling waters soak the sodden plains.
And brown and foaming flow the streams flood-swollen,
Swelled high and wide by teeming monsoon rains.

The arid deserts bake in summer heat waves,
While ancient stream beds dream of former days.
The deluge on the coast flows out to oceans,
As sense and “progress” go their separate ways.

— D.N. O’Brien

{Image of the Paroo River by Peter Woodard via Wikipedia}

Pro-Putin Poet

Tags

Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Formal poetry, poem, poetry, Russia, Russian poets, Vladimir Putin

Pro-Putin Poet

I’m moving to Russia to sing Putin’s praises.
I’ll live on the steppes where wherever one gazes
One sees far horizons, her vast open spaces,
Her beauty, her bounty. I’ll travel to places
Where never again will I hear folk complaining
Whenever from dull skies it’s snowing or raining.
I’ll go to the cities and see all their wonders,
And study the past and the Soviet blunders.
I’ll write formal verses that praise Vladimir,
And hope that he’ll have me around for a beer.

– D.N. O’Brien

A Sonnet for Rebecca

Tags

Australian poet, Formal poetry, poem, poetry, Rebecca Weisser, Rebecca Weisser journalist, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet, The Australian newspaper

A Sonnet for Rebecca

{For Rebecca Weisser}

She has a sense of humour quite refined;
And common sense? — of that she isn’t short.
Courageous? Yes indeed — she speaks her mind;
For those without a voice Rebecca’s fought.
She has integrity — she can’t be bought —
No one would try, her character’s well-known.
I guess these were the values she was taught —
Her faith in them throughout the years has grown.
She faces now a test – but not alone,
For closest friends, and some she’s never met,
Are with her — in their thoughts and prayers they’ve shown
Their love and their concern — know she won’t let
A temporary hurdle stop her run;
This cloud will pass and soon reveal the Sun.

— D.N. O’Brien

Is the Pope a Catholic?

Tags

Australian poet, Fay Wray, King Kong, poem, poetry, Pope Francis, Triolet

Is the Pope a Catholic?

Dear Francis — both religions can’t be true.
If one is right, the other must be wrong.
The Muslims understand this — why don’t you?
Dear Francis — both religions can’t be true;
And there’s no way to reconcile the two.
You’re trying to match Fay Wray with King Kong!
Dear Francis — both religions can’t be true.
If one is right, the other must be wrong.

Pope claims God wills diverse religions

A Classic Correction

Tags

Australian poet, Feminism, limerick, Limerick poem, Limerick poetry, Moby Dick, poem, poetry, Political Correctness, Revisionism

A Classic Correction

I think I’ll rewrite “Moby Dick”.
Of all its sexism I’m sick!
Ahab will be gay,
Crew trans – by the way,
The heroin, black – “Moby Chick”!

– D.N. O’Brien