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Em  Mar 2021
Why Kookaburra
Em Mar 2021
Why Kookaburra
Hiding round the stone
Sulking in the graveyard
Silent and alone

Alas! Alas!
I’m selfish, cruel, a beast
I am a thief
A thief of time
Yet I don’t take
I give

Why Kookaburra
Do you shy away from trees
When flocks of birds come resting
And food is wild and free

Alas! Alas!
They will not receive me
Deceiver, am I
Laughing at the fools
I bring suffering and cries
And roost with empty wings

Why Kookaburra
Do you say these things?
You are a special bird
With nature to be these

Alas! Alas!
They think they know
Indeed
If survival’s not the key
Then what is left of me?

Why Kookaburra
What brash insults you speak
Accuse us of such deeds
Perhaps you must acquit

Alas! Alas!
Did you not say to be me?
To fly up on bird’s wings
Oh so high
And do what I need be?

Why Kookaburra
Look around and see
The world loves and lives
For those who sit and sing
People are difficult to satisfy
George Krokos Dec 2010
Aborigines and kangaroos
boomerangs and didjeridoos.
Leafy gum tree branch and koala bear
black stump in the middle of nowhere.
Jolly swagman camped by a billabong
in 'Waltzing Matilda' a favourite song.
The wild brumbies roaming free in the outback
a scruffy hobo living alone in a country shack.
Aboriginal myths called their dreamtime
the native Australians regard as sublime.
Ring-tailed possum and wombat
aussie bloke wearing akubra hat.
Alice Springs and Ayers Rock
outback stations and livestock.
Ned Kelly bushranger and his law brushes
the Eureka stockade during the gold rushes.
Laughing kookaburra and old man emu
platypus swimming in underwater view.
Banjo Patterson’s poem ‘The Man from Snowy River’
who went riding down mountain side without a quiver.
Surfers paradise and the Great Barrier reef
sixties rock ‘n roll legend: Johnny O’Keefe.
Anzac marches and the land of the Southern cross
old Cobb & Co. stagecoach used to travel across.
Glorious summer sunshine and winter rains
severe country drought and the desert plains.
Eucalyptus scent and Tea-tree oil
good health remedies from the soil.
Fresh water yabbies and the witchety grub
all make good tucker in the bush or scrub.
Crocodiles in the Kakadu national park
Burrumundi and the great white shark.
Sydney harbour bridge and the Opera House
Daintree rain forest and the kangaroo mouse.
Sheep wool farming and old shearing sheds
Melbourne Cup horse race for thoroughbreds.
Riverboat cruising up and down the Murray
passing border country towns not in a hurry.
Cradle mountain and the Tasmanian Devil
saying ‘fair dinkum’ means it’s on the level.
AFL rules football and big crowds at the MCG
playing one day cricket there is exciting to see.
The Fitzroy Gardens and Captain Cook’s cottage
are there for all to see as symbols of our heritage.
The Twelve Apostles standing along a rugged stretch of coast
a Ninety-Mile beach is something about which we can also boast.
The Glass House mountains are a sight to see and even to climb
by those who consider themselves fit enough and in their prime.
The great Australian Bight and the road on the Nullarbor plain
is a great feat to drive across and be able to come back again.
The local native wild dog known by name as the Dingo
has nothing to do with a game people play called Bingo.
There’s also a game called two-up that some people play
by which they gamble most of their weeks wages away.
Luna Park in St.Kilda and the annual Royal Melbourne Show
are places where you can take the kids to have fun people know.
There’s the local pub where you can go and have a drink with your mates
and is what many do all day long having a few too many in all the States.
This great southern land of Australia has so much to see and to offer
it would be a ****** shame if one didn’t give a **** or was a scoffer.
_________
Private Collection - written in 2002
betterdays Mar 2014
Ethel echidna
had a date wid Pike,
a fiiine!
young hedgehog
who be doin' the backpack

she got n' egg
ya see bout a rave
up in the mountains
in a black cathederic cave
doof doof in the dandenongs

d' message said
up dee track
where the ding dongs
don't dare follow
round d' hollow n'
up the back

Ethel she preened
and she polished
the dreds down her back,
clickety, click, clack.
painted her claws
a fetching shade
of orange neon
all watched on by
Pike the backpack peon

then to the doof
dey departed
at a fast shuffel
leaving behin
barely a ruffle
in the burrowed air
they followed
d'directions to
d' right section
dis dey knew
by d' sound of
d' massive party
goin down

on payin d' dosh n'
getten d' mark
off dey went
inta the fray
***** boy mumbled
"woyhoy gotcha!"
when he saw who
was providin
the goodmuse vibing
up ona stage
Jagger the emu
was a struttin'
with Ringo the dingo
on drums an bongos
while Hendrix
the numbat riffed d' strat
an  Entwhistle
d'frogmouthed owl
grooved on his gibson
wid ***** left stage staring

Ethel got bizzy
check'n out the dancefloor
lookin for bling or moves wid a sting
perhaps a little ******* headbangin

well down
at the southdoor
trouble was brewin'
foul words
was spewin between
d magpie n seagull crews
till the bouncers,
kanga & roo
hustled dem
all outside for a brew

up near the stacks
Pheobe the lizard
was flashin
a matchin
frill n grill ensemble
while Stan, her man
was fillin his bill
at the buffet table
as only a pelican can
at the grub bar
sat the kookaburra trio
Max,Tom, Deccy
havin a speccy
at tha lady
cockatoos n' galahs,
givina chuckle
at the bruhaha
they had created
comin flyin from
near n' far to this
surberb n spectacular
festival of fauna
"tho hot as a sauna
best dis year sofah"

jus inside
d' recovery corner sat
Horn a blue tongue lizard
feelin a bit pukey n' flat
den dere was
Kayla n' Jac
a pair o koalas
who now be zonin
from d eucalyptus
dey been a chewen
alldayz

outaback time it's awastin
with dis watchin n waitin

Ethel hit the floor
wherever
she booggied,
grooved or h-banged
she got a big crowd,
given her ground
to shake
her dreds around
cause dat girl
is dangerous
wid her dredlocks man,
to which Zach
the one eyed wombat
can well attest

Now not bein a dancer
***** got lonely
so looked upa chat
with the rest
of d' backpackin crowd
he swapped recipes
for green brownies wit
Boomer the orangatang,
harvest spots wit
Goth the friutbat,
Hamish de otter,
quiet de globetrotter,
did giv ***** some tips
about surfin rips
furder down de coast.

so dey shimmyed
an dey shammyed,
dey talked
an dey squawked
till d' old sun
came out to play
den dey wandered
and dey wended
back down
d' track to d' town
to sleep d' day away.

as to our Ethel
and *****,
well
dey crawled
gingerly
inta their bed,
they cuddled
an dey clicked,
dey kissed
an dey snicked
and dey
blew dey
selfs away
Taylor Jul 2011
A purple sky gave backdrop to a web of stars.
Fairies flew through the night.
Waves of scarlet, indigo, and violet mark their trail.

A dragon roars off in the distance.
A wolf howls at the moon,
And a kookaburra sings,
Lending its voice to the chorus of the night.

Glowing fish zip through the moonlit lake.
Mermaids rest on rocks,
Tails adorned with patterns that come alive with the touch of a lover.
Their hair is done up with beautiful braids,
Dew drops as bracelets on their wrists.

A griffin lies at the mouth of a cave,
Its golden hide tattooed with a delicate hand.
Cubs learn to take flight,
Dodging pixies dancing in the night.

Young bear cubs run through the forest,
They hunt out sleeping wood nymphs,
Making a game out of waking the beautiful girls.
With a whack of a branch the game ends,
But not without a satisfying laugh from the nymphs watching above.

An elf watches from above,
Drinking in the smiles of the night,
The twinkle of the stars,
And sighs of embrace.

What a night to be alive.
many interludes of laughter pealed
from a jovial kookaburra
who sat high on the elm tree's branch
gaily chortling to himself
as the dawning sun rose
of such merry tidings
the bird did bring
uplifting
was his
joy
######
he'd
given
the new day
a jolliness
the mood of much glee
making his chuckling tones
the sound great to listen to
enlivening the heart's spirits
with a bright awakening call
ever so happy in the morning staging
betterdays  Apr 2014
random suite
betterdays Apr 2014
kookaburra  war
cacophony at dawnbreak who needs sleep
not me

strong black coffee please! long sleepless night behind me,
longer day ahead

origami cranes
gather on the windowsill
awaiting the breeze

feeding virtual koi
one of one thousand inane actions done this day

sticky little hands
*****, grimey, smiley face kindi good today?

Once upon a time,
So much latent potency
In  five simple words

lay you, down thy head,
upon linen cool and fine
rest thy weary mind.
a day of hiakus
eyes wide open
thru
to eyes drooping closed
goodnite
betterdays  May 2014
predawn
betterdays May 2014
the night is
                  still
                     dark
                       quiet
there is a distinct
                           chill
                             breathe
                            gently steams
from my mouth
                      seen only in the
light of a poets tablet.

the first bird is yet to wake
i am alone in my early mornings prowl.

too cold for the little grey cat
and too early for the human companions, they all remain
abide... cozied up and asleep

as i search the dark cold              
                                          nigh­t
for meaning.

in the distance the kookaburra cackle and chuckle
            dawn has come...
betterdays  Jun 2014
coup
betterdays Jun 2014
it appears as though
there was a coup,
in kookaburra land,
this morning.

much fuss,
and cacophony.
as the brown and blue kingfisher clan, reassembled,
their royal court.

the big old king,
uncurled his talons,
unfurled his wings,
gave one last,
manical chuckle....
and fell from his perch.

to lie still,
upon the dusty,
brown earth.

shocked, silence for some seconds, and then...
the eucalypts erupted into, (what would appear to the outsider);
cold calculating mirth.

as the young jacko princes, all began the joking joust
for the top place berth.

in a melee of swooping, chuckling grace,
a contest no less,
set to test....
mettle, worth and cackle call.
each young bird,
takes to the wing and flies into the maddening...and how close,
         how loud,
                  how startling,
         they can be.
            is made known,      
by those,
whose years,    
            have flown.

when all, is said and done. tourney overflown,
feathers are preened.
then the winner
is presented,
with opportunity, bold....
to nest the queen.
as to the rest,
they take their place,
in the chaotic, cackling, cacophonous,
kookabuurra clan nests.
to bide their time,
until, the next coup,
                        comes calling...
this is fiction, i have no idea, really, how jackos sort out their hierarchy. they where just exceptionally excited at dawn this morning... and this flowed through.
betterdays  Jun 2014
5.41am
betterdays Jun 2014
5.41
is the time on the clock face,
when the first kookaburra
calls.
this corner of the world,
still dark and cold.
but then i suppose,
some poor sucker,
had to get the early bird gig
i just wish, it was'nt,
the noisiest bird in the park.

look out worms.....laughing death is on the wing.
and thus starts another day.

— The End —