During week 12 of ‘Writing Apocalypse, we were asked to read Mary Karr’s Disappointments of the Apocalypse, then come up with our own ‘Disappointments of the Apocalypse’ poem.
Poems
Dissonance by Adelaide McElhinney
Swaying leaves and lapping shores
herald shifting dreams
of memories imagined.
One Horse: A Study in Memory
Trigger Warning: Disturbing content
I wrote this as a story, but I’ve been told it’s poetry, so I’ll post it in both categories and let you decide.
Seven Watchmen by Rudyard Kipling
Seven Watchmen sitting in a tower,
Watching what had come upon mankind,
Showed the Man the Glory and the Power,
And bade him shape the Kingdom to his mind.
Silence by Adelaide McElhinney
Silence Hum of traffic returning workers from endless hours of drudgery. Roar of mowers remaking lawns in tame parodies of the wilderness.
The Man From Ironbark by A. B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson
It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town, He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and down. He loitered here, he loitered there, till he was like to drop, Until at last in sheer despair… Read More ›
Dreams by Adelaide McElhinney
Dreams I dream. I dream of his face. I dream of the blood That trickled in his eyes. I dream of the crowd, The way they cried For his destruction. I dream of my own Reluctance to disagree With the… Read More ›
My Country by Dorothea Mackellar
My Country The love of field and coppice, Of green and shaded lanes. Of ordered woods and gardens Is running in your veins, Strong love of grey-blue distance Brown streams and soft dim skies I know but cannot share it,… Read More ›
A Bush Christening By Banjo Patterson
A Bush Christening On the outer Barcoo where the churches are few, And men of religion are scanty, On a road never cross’d ‘cept by folk that are lost, One Michael Magee had a shanty. Now this Mike was the… Read More ›
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would… Read More ›
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the… Read More ›
The Tragedy
He grabbed me by my slender neck, I could not call or scream; He took me to his darkened tent Where we could not be seen. He tore from me my flimsy wrap, He gazed upon my form, I was… Read More ›
The Bushman’s Farewell to Queensland
Queensland, thou art a land of pests; Fo flies and fleas one never rests. E’en now mosquitos round me revel — In fact they are the very devil. Sandflies and hornets just as bad — They nearly drive a fellow… Read More ›
The Italian Cocky’s Lament
Me blooda full of da Queensland, Your country verra dry; Me never maka no fortune No matter how me try. Banana getta da buncha top, Tomato getta da blight; Cabbage getta da avis He looka da rotten sight. Grub he… Read More ›
Bloody, Bloody, Bloody (The Great Australian Adjective)
This bloody town’s a bloody cuss, No bloody tram, no bloody bus, And no one cares for bloody us, Oh, bloody bloody bloody! The bloody roads are bloody bad, The bloody folks are bloody mad, They even say — You… Read More ›
A toast
Now Lois likes his native wine, And Otto likes his beer; The Pommy goes for half and half Because it gives him cheer, While Angus likes his whisky neat, And Paddy likes his tot — The Aussie has no drink… Read More ›
Lest We Forget
Today, on this ANZAC Day, I honour the memories of all those who have fought for our freedom and the freedom of our children and grandchildren. I honour those who have died in battle. I honour those who suffered and… Read More ›
‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots… Read More ›
Buffalo Dusk by Carl Sandburg
The buffaloes are gone. And those who saw the buffaloes are gone. Those who saw the buffaloes by thousands and how they pawed the prairie sod into dust with their hoofs, their great heads down pawing on in a great… Read More ›
For the Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal… Read More ›
Maypole Chant from Wicker Man
I really love this chant from the maypole scene in Wicker Man.
Rafferty's Rules is Closing Down 