Anti-Gun Culture (an ANZAC Day sonnet)

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Anti-gun movement, ANZAC Day, australian formal poetry, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Gun culture, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

“So you have guns – my god, you must be nuts!
I couldn’t bring myself to hunt and kill,
For I’m allergic to all blood and guts,
And when I see it, down my spine a chill
It travels, and I have to take a pill.
I think all senseless shooting should be banned.
I’ll campaign for disarmament until
There’s not a single gun throughout the land.
If necessary, from your cold dead hand
I’ll take your gun if you will not comply.
This is my cause – I hope you understand.”
“Your threat is clear – and yes, I’d rather die;
My life and liberty I owe to guns
Once wielded by my country’s bravest sons.”

An Axe Attack

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australian formal poetry, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Bashar Assad, ISIS, Islamic State, islamic Terrorism, jihad, poem, poetry, Spenserian sonnet, Syria, Syrian attack, Tomahawk missile attack

Assad it seems has been cut down to size;
With tomahawks they’ve given him the chop.
And only time will tell if this was wise
And whether further limbs they’ll have to lop.
(Once pruning starts it can be hard to stop)
Will weakening Assad pay dividends? –
America’s now playing the world’s cop –
But backing crazies? – Oops! I mean our friends!
Well was this justified? Well it depends:
The Russians say the rebels were the cause,
But Trump’s attack the White House now defends.
Miscalculations sometimes lead to wars;
It’s best to know the truth before one acts –
Let’s hope Trump’s in possession of the facts.

Who Done It?

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australian formal poetry, Australian traditional poetry, islamic Terrorism, Islamization, jihad, Jihadists, limerick, Limerick poem, Limerick poetry, London terror attack, poem, poetry, Spenserian sonnet

A terrorist attack! – who could it be?
The Seventh Day Adventists spring to mind,
But there are lots of others – let me see –
The Buddhists? No, I doubt that they’re inclined
To knife or shoot – they’re really much too kind.
But what about the Mormons? – maybe they
Are angry. (in the past they’ve been maligned)
The Hindus? – they could rise up any day,
And so too could the Catholics – how they pray!
Are Protestants more likely to rebel?
Perhaps, but it’s too early yet to say.
It may be Hari Krishnans – who can tell?
I’m running out of suspects – Sikhs perhaps?
Or could it be Confucians – Chinese chaps?

Vale Bill Leak

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australian formal poetry, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Bill Leak cartoonist, Bill Leak dies, Bill Leak persecuted, poem, poetry, Spenserian sonnet

His weapons were his satire and his art,
Fused brilliantly with intellect and skill.
Against all those who would drive us apart
He laboured on with an unwavering will.
Unleashed his wit with words and brush and quill,
Creating scenes that only he could draw.
Into a picture Bill Leak could distil
A statement that would strike right at the core
Of issues that the mainstream would ignore.
Entered the left, who saw him as a threat –
Free speech? No! We must stop him – this is war!
Socialist warriors! – your daggers whet!
But no racist was he – there was no crime;
Just works of a great artist of our time.

{Bill Leak 1956 – 10/03/2017 – RIP}

Death of Bill Leak

Hidden World

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australian formal poetry, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, manipulation by the media, Media agenda, Media propaganda, Misinformation, Official secrets, poem, poetry, Real world versus the perceived world, Spenserian sonnet, The secret world

There isn’t just one world, for there are two.
One is the world that most of us may see.
The other world is seen by just a few,
And hidden from the likes of you and me.
But there was once a man who held a key
That opened doors into that other sphere.
Then he could see the real reality,
So different to the daily fog and fear
That issues from the media – the queer
Obsession with replacing facts with lies;
That’s what we read and each day what we hear:
Racism rages, homophobes and spies
Abound, the Russians hack and pull the strings;
Yet in his world he saw quite different things.

Boundless Energy

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America's new energy policy, Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

Unlock the energy that’s stored below.
Use nature’s gifts – the gas and oil and coal.
Banish stagnation – let the nation grow;
Grease all the wheels – and watch the big rigs roll.
Energy independence is our goal;
We won’t let Arabs, sitting on their oil,
Compel us to pay them – we’ll take control;
For OPEC’s oligopoly we’ll spoil,
As riches are won from the homeland’s soil.
No longer hostage to corrupt cartels,
We’ll bring black gold to light with skill and toil.
Explore! – sink deep the shafts, and drill the wells!
Ignore the naysayers – their doom and gloom;
Cheap energy will drive the coming boom!

Whitehouse Energy Policy

Post Truth

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Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, DNC hacks, Julian Assange, poem, poetry, Spenserian sonnet, Wikileaks

Assange says that the Russians weren’t the source
Of those hacked emails of the DNC.
The Democrats ignore this claim of course,
And all the rotten media agree
That Putin was the one to oversee
These hacks – to give Republicans a pump.
But Vladimir knows Barack to a T;
Knows he is just a puppet and a chump;
The Democrats irrelevant – a rump.
The Russian President is quite amused
By tactics meant to tarnish Donald Trump.
How in the West, truth is with lies confused.
That he who but the facts on matters seeks,
Is forced to put his trust in Wikileaks.

Lament of the Coddled

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Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Formal poetry, Spenserian sonnet

Oh blackest day of all our days on Earth!
A tragedy we’ll surely not survive.
Protected from reality since birth,
Provided for, we’ve never had to strive
(Unlike the working class) to stay alive.
We huddle in safe spaces and we cry.
We congregate like drones within a hive,
Aware that our annihilation’s nigh.
Now from our lips a great collective sigh
Bemoans the victory of one so bad,
So mean; we shout unto the heavens – why?
This triumph of the misinformed – so sad,
Fixes our fate; there’s naught that we can do;
Our multicoloured world has turned to blue.

Merry Tolerant Christmas

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Australian poet, Australian traditional poetry, Christmas celebrations, Christmas protests, Formal poetry, Islam in Australia, limerick, Limerick poem, Limerick poetry, poem, poetry, Spenserian sonnet

Let’s celebrate, but sensitively, right?
We must acknowledge that we could offend,
And good God! – we don’t want to start a fight;
We’re flexible, for heaven’s sake – we’ll bend.
(For principles don’t matter in the end)
Our celebrations could be misconstrued.
(The Crusades are not easy to defend)
Our revelling may be considered rude.
Some may think Christmas trees and tinsel crude,
For it’s a different god these folks obey;
He may judge us licentious, loud, or lewd.
So think of others on this Christmas Day;
Those from those nations less diversified,
Where “Merry Christmas!” gets you crucified.

A Sonnet for Madam President

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poem, poetry, sonnet, Spenserian sonnet

A female President? – What could go wrong?
In government one has to compromise,
And we all know the fairer sex is strong
In that regard, and too, unlike the guys,
Gals hold no grudges and they tell no lies;
Logical, clear-headed, rational, and
Like Solomon, judicious, fair, and wise.
Male politicians, on the other hand,
Behave in ways no one can understand.
So with a female leader we can live;
A change for good is sweeping o’er the land;
We need a President with love to give.
Into the depths ancient suspicions hurl
And give the highest office to a girl.

[I had written this for her inauguration – blast you Donald Trump!!!]