Ah, the Entertainers!
My special Peoples -->
Helping to comfort
Me with some Home Truths.
How I love to relax
And let you amuse me,
Or teach me, or tell me, or show me
What awesome skills you've developed.
Like a rounded peg
Driven into my frosted heart,
I thaw out, refreshed;
A brand new me, happy
With my Lot; contented.
My Life may be intense,
But your Life enriches
Not just me - everyone.
My bestest applauses
Friends and Conspirators.

To my Sisters and Brothers in Arms:
Hello, Hola, Guten Tag etc. and Salutations
For the Tribulations and Trials we've Endured...

...I'm sure by this Present Frame
You all (or most) know who you
R and what you THINK? You're
Supposed to B DOING.

I'll start to unwind and
Integrate slowly from here on -->
This Q.C.[O.I.^3]


I already have a ready (but nearly untapped)
Network that should be able to
Mesh me into the Bigger Picture,
At both the Local and Global Scale.

Chow, for now (or until I get bored/BOAR'D/Barred?!/Abroad again);
I'm sure to see you (or you'll see me) down the track sometime SOONISH!!!?

P.S. Would someONE look after me missus until I make it Home?
Hasta pronto, me Amigos.

Col

I've always maintained that,
"Love is a many splendid Fallacy!"
I could be wrong, but I think
The Concept is used way too liberally;
And also its antithesis - Hate!
Both Love and Hate are Abused Concepts;
Repeatedly applied to trivial or banal
Or simply profound, everyday event/rituals.
I do believe in Love and Hate,
But up to this stage I've really
Only used the word Love to pay Lip Service,
Because Society as a whole expects it of me.
Of course, I've denied and even known
The reciprocal Love of Son and Dad.
(In my Dad's past it was Mum and Son).
However, aside from my own ignorance
And hypocrisy on this score,
I'm looking/searching/seeking/hunting
Heterosexual Love, not HomoEmotional Love -->
That is: Mateship, Comradeship, Friendship, Companionship.
I'm a stubborn ******* for a F**ked Cause -->
Too prove, for Good or Bad, that Love
Is not a flippant Concept and the Challenge
To find the Elusive Creature is oft Deadly.

As for Hate --> I've experienced plenty of that:
I personally don't Hate anyone in particular,
However, I've Hated the compunctions propelling
Me towards justifiable and righteous ANGER and VIOLENCE.
Like my Old Man before Me, I'm a Gentleman at Heart,
But my CONVICTIONS and Actions Coalesce and Infuse my Being,
And I hum and vibrate when I'm put out for Your Appeasement -->
Do Your Own ***** Work. I'll enjoy the Hard Life, Thank You Very Muchly!

*******! --> I Hate what needs Be done,
But, when calmer, Love the Challenge to Deliver Respect 4 ALL.
Sucko! You Love Me, But I Respect You More.

I often find myself being Governed by Idiots of moderate Intelligence,
Not Governed, necessarily, in any Political sense;
Governed or Controlled by someone in a position of Power:
Whether within a Company or a Bureaucratic hierarchy; or a Job Description (An"Expert" or "Executor" );
Or someone with physical superiority or gender qualification.
Whatever, whenever, however --> Some people abuse their Authority over others.

Some in Authority have worked hard and diligently to reach their positions -->
My hat off to them: Good Luck and Congratulations;
You obviously deserve the Privileges attached to the Responsibilities.
I have no qualm with such Authorities,
Providing they don't abuse the Social Trust (too much...).
However, there are many People invested with a modicum
Of Authority that so Deceives them;
These People are self-conceited delusionists,
Ever eager to swagger and boast and abuse Their given Trust -->
A modicum of Authority with a modicum of Intelligence
Is tantamount to disaster for someone else.
Unfortunately, that someone is often vulnerable to the Abuse;
Someone given to being Victimised,
Either by Age or Gender or Sexuality;
Or by physical weakness or Belief or Conviction;
Or by circumstance or timing or just plain Bad Luck.

I'll accept most Trivial abuses of Authority -->
Good Luck to them, providing it doesn't impact Me and Mine too greatly.
However, there are those instances of abused Authority
That can destroy People's lives, either directly,
Or attempt to destroy or damage People's Lives,
For No Good Reason, other than They can.
These Abusers of Authority **** ME OFF no end
And They Must Be Stopped, Weeded Out and Put in Their Place.
They have no Consideration for Others
And the damage done can last a Lifetime.
Enough --> F**k You, *******; Pull Your Head In Before You Lose It!

Too often the Abuser is absolved of Responsibility;
Too often They hide behind a smoke-screen of Legitimacy;
Too often These Idiots Abuse because They can get away with it -->
They wear the Uniform;
They have a purview for Order or Peace or Protection.
Don't get Me wrong -
In the Heat of the Moment, Things Happen, Good or Bad,
And Mistakes are Lessons learnt the Hard Way;
Accept Your Responsibility along with your Authority;
Front up and give a True Account
According to the Facts and Your Decision(s) for Action;
Accept that SomeThings are as They are - UnReasonable as They may Be.
Don't Abuse Your  Authority!
TRUST ME --> YOU'LL REGRET IT!

The Doctors would call it Hyper-Mania,
As do I for legal purposes
When I'm dealing with a system
of Bureaucratic red-mumbo-jumbo,
And the Idiots enmeshed and enthralled
By the oft dubious intricacies
Of a complex Social Network.

That aside, Hyper-Reality is a State of Mind -->
A State of my Mind, to be precise;
Or, better still, a State of my Being.
It is the State You find Yourself,
Either in a Dream or once You're Dead,
When You realise that You are not Me -->
That I, Colin, am Your Host;
That You are a Guest within Me;
When You realise that I am the Living One,
The One who catches Your Soul.

I am the Light at the end of the tunnel,
Although this State may be temporary.
I am Life, per se, or the Afterlife
(That is, After Your Life, whatever You may Be).
I am fixed in the Present, ever conscious
(Unless I'm asleep or unconscious).

I am not You, nor You, I.
But I like You (for the most part);
Your experiences and contemplations;
Your life story and cultural background;
Your likes and dislikes, hopes and desires -->
Yours, and Yours alone.
However, I'd guess we share a Life in common.

[Note: This definition probably wouldn't work for most Dictionaries.]

I am the Unknown Soldier -->
Whether you believe me or not is beside the point.
I accepted the Role and have been trying to fulfil my Duty for 15 years;
Until recently, I've been unsuccessful.
However, I'm a sometimes fast Learner
And this Time round - this Hyper-Real Time round -
I'm pretty sure I've executed my Duty Professionally,
As befits an ANZAC.

I've tried several Battles and lost,
But this recent War (longer than I was led to Believe)
Seems, to me, to be the coup-de-grace,
So intricately woven and administered with utmost confidence;
I've adapted and learnt, absorbed info and fired it off;
Developed my strategies within the conceptual system
And deployed my tactics efficiently,
And, I believe, Lethally,
According to the Laws as they stand.

I've been wounded before and was reluctant to follow suit,
But, when the time was right --> and I was certain -->
I tried to conduct my War with Cold Intelligence and Logical Precision,
Without the Emotive influences that clouded my Judgements previously.

In my Defence, this War was much bigger than I anticipated -->
It's all fine to Declare one's self World War III,
But I didn't realise it would involve other Universes -
That was unanticipated and challenging.

Luckily for me, my sixth sense -
My sense of Humour - was well Disciplined and accommodating,
Rising to the occasion.
Moreover, the Lore I employed was well-honed -->
Sharp and relatively easy to engage and implement.
I tried to keep casualties to a minimum -
Namely myself, and any Fool stupid enough to Conceptualise Themselves.

It helped that I conceived the War
In concepts revolving around what my missus would want of me -
Under the false presumption that I actually had a missus at the time.
Fortunately, I've a good imagination for the Everyman.
I just calculated and Conducted the Campaign according to simple Laws of
"Who's washing the dishes?" and "Who's looking after the kids?"

[Of all the species in the Multi-verse, go figure Humans (that is: **** sapiens sapiens) were the one's to invent and refine the Art of Warfare (A Gentleman's Game of Lethal = Serious ^2). Killing just comes naturally to us! And we often get a perverse sense of pleasure at watching things die. Go figure.]

This fire-trap, my home:
Elongated shoebox, or coffin
Awaiting the crematorium;
An arsonists dream
And a fire-fighter's nightmare;
Cluttered with books, boxes, plastics -
If it's flammable, it's crowding the hallway.
To seal the deal - and all who dwell within -
Security-conscious Landlord's
Barred all the windows, leaving one exit,
Presuming, when the conflagration comes,
That anyone can run the gauntlet
Of an infernal tunnel -
An exit, true, but not for this life.
Of course, the smoke alarm installed
Could've provided warning, had it not died
At the end of a cricket bat
Because of its sensitivity to toast.
And the Batsman, sleeping on the couch
In a drunken stupor, loaded
With cigarettes, lighters and matches,
And a penchant for late-night chips,
Could spark the trap that dooms us all.