I love the majestic ugliness of the Eucalypt;
Aesthetically more appealing in its twisted, gnarled appearance
Than any uniform northern conifer;
Infinitely more adapted to the unforgiving antipodean climate
Than those idealised European deciduous living monuments
Still transfixing our collective view of how a tree should be.

Those dropping leaves allowing scenes beyond;
Those tendrils of bark denoting Darwinian fitness;
All tug at the heart of we new Australians,
Conflicted, as we are, by sensibilities born elsewhere,
But borne, nevertheless, into an Ancient Eden.

Being right
Is of little consolation
If your being in hospital;
And no consolation at all
If your Being ceases to be!
---------
I'm a predator
Searching out for a mate:
Scrutinising all prey that crosses my path.
I'll eat **** and take what comes,
Or starve if need be - self-satiated -
While I patiently await
That dainty, succulent morsel;
That indelibly edible delicacy
Which my heart so desires.
---------
Airheads to the left of me;
Airheads to the right of me;
Airheads in front of me;
Cackled and blundered!
Their's was not to reason why;
Their's was but to buy or die.
And I...
I just shook my head and wondered...

Now you're ten,
You're almost a man.
As such, I want to impart this wisdom:
- Be true to yourself;
- Be honest and trustworthy;
- Be true to your word;
- Stand up for yourself and the weak;
- Laugh at everything;
- Continue to have fun whenever possible;
- Take responsibility for your actions;
- Look people in the eye when you speak;
- Have a firm handshake;
- Respect others (even if you don't like them), and
- Enjoy life --> you only have one life, don't waste it.

I hope your life is joyous and fruitful,
And you grow into the upright man destiny decreed.

Used and abused,
Like a trolley in a creek;
Try as I might,
Can't find my feet.

Every time I make a mark
The line shifts away -
Wondering when the time will come
When this dog has its day.

"Your still young", so they say -
But it's always the old that tell me;
"There's a future out there, waiting";
I must be too blind to see.

Stuck in a rut, with nowhere to go,
But when I think I've hit rock-bottom - the pits -
The Black Dog is suckled from below;
And my conscious mind turns in fits
As the dismal reality drags me to a new low.

You're no friend of mine, you f**k -
You should be there to protect and support me;
To encourage me to meet my potential;
To skipper me towards rewarding opportunities.
But that isn't your way - No, not you!
Your insidious sabotage screws me at every turn;
You lurk in dark recesses then pounce when I'm in company -
As soon as I open my mouth, you're there to trip me up.
I'd be rid of you if I could,
But you've anchored your talons monopolistically;
Superseded any attempt I've tried to reform;
Undermined my confidence to the point of despondency and dependency,
All to fuel your Super-Ego.
If my suicide had succeeded,
You'd be dead and buried,
And I'd be free!

When you sauntered through the pub
I knew my life had changed;
No longer concerned to save the world,
I needed to pull resources to save my heart.

The light through your auburn hair
The exact colour of magnificent conflagrations;
Those intense wildfires evermore common
Due to shifting climate patterns.
And, like a bushfire threatening lives and homes,
No man was untouched -
All were scorched by your radiant beauty.

Your pearly whites'
Whiter than the bleached bones
Of countless drought-stricken livestock;
Whiter, still, than bleached reefs,
Luminous in their death-throes.

And those intense green eyes -
More glowing than a radio-active
Atoll seen from space.

And your voice, when you asked to sit,
Had the harmonic cascade of a thousand extinct species,
Each singing their death song in salute to corporate success:
It made my knees tremble and my wallet itch!

Your ******* as well proportioned
As those majestic ****-heaps of open-cut mines.

The little paunch you wear so proud,
Is more cute and inviting of attention
Than all the distended stomachs of starving African children.

As I explored further into nether regions,
I was delighted to discover
You'd taken the Brazilian to heart -
Clear-felling all but a remnant;
A tuft in tribute to a once great forest -
A forest of mystery and exotic, ****** adventure,
Now open for tourism!

Your scent more intoxicating
Than a million factory flues
Spewing out toxic pollutants
To fix our corporate wants.

When you invaded my heart
It was as devastating as the "shock and awe" tactics
Of a military Superpower unleashing its might
On a hapless oil-rich and strategically significant,
But unco-operative, dissident regime.

Your plump, glossy, cherry-red lips
More succulent than a genetically-modified tomato
Grown on a corporate farm, maximising profits.

And even though you're more vacuous
Than a bovine skull after the hydraulic rod
Has rendered the animal fit for hamburgers and processed foods,
You've still captured my heart
Like a sentimental story broadcast
On a slow news day with advertiser's approval.

Gaia can look after Herself,
I'll not defend Her - I'm on the shelf;
Captured by a product of modern media,
I'm in Love with a global Arcadia!