Doth not my sleek enemy furtively creep?
Amid the fauna my loving nature as it lay asleep
Think now, how must I save my little ones to keep
From a vixen of cunning and hunger so deep
Should it be at night you must reap
That I should hunt and seek you complete
And a gun must lay you in a heap

Can something not be done?
To make a spiders life more fun
Than going round and round clockwise
Silk hangin’ from my bum
I’d rather be scarin’ humans
They’re as gullible as can be
When my red stripe is flashed
Near somewhere that they be

A nibble on one ear
A peck on my cheek
A coffee in hand, beware
A friendly little beak

A coo in my ear
A tuck in my chest
A rattle of feathers
Inside her nest

Three little chicks
Of colours unknown
Skinny little things
That her love life has sown

Proud mother
Proud as can be
Our pet cockatiel Nicky
Just wants us to see

Paddocks of thistle
Dirt roads and tracks
Old houses
And many old shacks

Friendly people
A cosmopolitan place
Old Betty and Joe
And lots of space

The old Bowmans bus
And footpaths of dust
School kids aplenty
To a bucket of rust

The PMG phone box
Common shade of red
The A and B button
After coins were fed

A delicatessen and butcher
Was all it had?
In the way of retail
It was really sad

But they were the sixties
When home grown was good
And Old Joe and Betty loved
As good parents would

Prince the dog
Guarded without fear
When old Joe went trappin’
And trouble was near

And as you will
Be wanton’ to kill
Absorbing the thrill
As a starling stood still
A gun to the dill
And fire at will
With a shanghais to help
And my Brother Phil
A hat in the air
Cos you hit him fair
For that bird I don’t care
They’re anything but rare
And as game very fair
Feathers in the air
Everywhere
And you winged a pair
A noisy lot
All Dads’ fruit they got
And my barrel is hot
You’ll beat me not
Starlings you’ll rot
So it’s goodbye at last
As I let off a blast
From a shotgun so fast
And now you’re cast
From atop the mast
No more starlings
Thank God
A thing of the past

A soul in hibernation I am never
Unlike God
But always I am known
As the spirit in the house
And the believers may query my ride
But never my right
To listen
Your’ right to speak
The ride of a lifetime is on earth
There is no heaven after this
Believers do not commit suicide
Earth is a proven paradise
Highly recommended as a hip place
Hang around why don’t you
Take the ride bare your soul
With me whilst you are here
God’s not here right now
And heaven seems so unreal
Almost too good to be true
For you it seems many miles away
But I can help because I am here right now
So let out the grief and hurt on me
Get aboard just talk your head off
Prayers answer you with miracles
How many miracles have you had today?
Feel the pain leave your body
As I listen intently
Feel the energy you now possess
And at last
You have a friend and an ear
By simply choosing me in the present
Lord I am here in your absence
For this child searching miracles that won’t come
The spirit in the house
And
Another suicide avoided
Thank me because God’s not here
And miracles are bloody hard to find
On such miserable days like this

My mind is of paranoia
Songbird unknowingly sings of joy that morn
A diabolical biblical methodical moment in time
A tune is not melodic but rings a death knell
A huge cross to bear
Ring thy bell of the reaper now
And at this historic moment
The birds no longer sing of joyous freedom
Clouds darkened the shadows even more
And the cross bears scars through thy palms
Of a reputed gentleman and saviour
Did Jesus get it wrong this once?
And for all the good you supposedly done
They murdered you my friend

I wait every year to die or live on
Unexpectedly
I am an Anzac
And I wonder why I was a survivor
I am no hero
My mates who died the mantle is theirs
I want nothing of it, ever
We did our best but heroes rarely live and tell
God failed to save the real heroes
And their story died that day

Come and tell me you are erect
Again
Your legs are stauncheon like now
And your tumbling days are gone
How many doors did you fall through?
Broken windows for god sake
Broken limbs
Come and tell me you are erect
Again
The traffic that you parted was legendary
And the late night phone calls
Still remind me of my fears
Come and tell me you are erect
Again
And the local lock up is in celebration
No hosing out the paddy wagon
Your nights out would put the town on alert
And it’s over
At last
We can all have a stiff drink
And celebrate your erection

Remember your sadness in those times
And you loved my father Old Joe did you not
That was your first mistake
He was a confused man
You fell after just one dance
A Birdman of fame and great knowledge
Should have stayed a birdman forever
And never attended your dance
His first love his only love was the aviary
He travelled Australia
He was a freedom child
With eleven children in those days
Just like a koala
Just like a wombat
Just like a goanna
Just like a rosella
Just like a goldfinch
Just like the need to run
Old Joe had to run free
A great European kid trying to find his way
Not the marrying kind but he didn’t know
His own fears
Mother made him lonely at times
And he pondered the truth
But I am sure he tried
Then the truth came out
What about Robert the oldest one
What about Michael
And the incarceration of young Paul
You took a risk Rhonda