Australia day

[Keith Collicoat]

"It's Australia day today old mate"

It’s been called The world’s fifth continent, by those who are more eloquent,

Downunder is quite prominent, and The Lucky country pertinent.

New Holland was another claim, in force the year that “Cookie” came,

call it Oz  if you’re game,  Australia is it’s proper name.



People came, anyhow; bringing sheep and the milking cow,

and put the country under plough; there’s twenty million live here now.

Most live on or near the coast, because inland you are sure to roast,

and we share the land with a special host, of which we proudly boast.



Marsupials like our Kangaroo, abound out here, nothing new,

Wombats have marsupium too, & moles & mice fit in this stew.

Monotremes are mammals too, the Platypus is one of two,

Echidna is the other who, lays an egg; what a coup!



Aussie birds, just a few; Kookaburra and the Cockatoo,

budgie and the ol’ Emu, our biggest bird, it never flew.

Galahs in flocks can cause a din, and Fairy penguins make me grin,

Currawongs will search your bin, with the help of crows as black as sin.

 

Melaleucas grow in great profusion; Gum trees too, must rate inclusion.

Mountain Ash gets a mention, for unsurpassed upright extension,

it thrives in the shady alpine glen, dense and oozing oxygen.

which empties on a ferny fen, well outside the pedestrian’s ken.



Across this wonderful island sanctuary, on the twenty sixth of January,

there’s a party held, a corroboree, without a hint of snobbery,

to celebrate the day, that Captain Phillip sealed our fate, back in 1788,

and ruminate then fulminate; it’s Australia day today old mate!

[Ric Raftis]

G'day Keith,

Hey, one email from you and you jump into the Forum from the deep end!

Goodonyer!  Hope to hear plenty from you mate and a hearty welcome to our group.  I'm sure you'll find a lot of mates here.

[manfredvijars]

G'day Keith, I think you've captured the lot in that one there Mate ...

Good job, hope we'll see more of you now you've broken the ice?

Cheers,

Manfred.

[Irene]

Hi Keith
Welcome to the site - always great to have new members. Lately the only new members have been hoards of foreigners wanting to advertise inappropriate sites!!

You've certainly covered most things australian - good on ya. Hope to see more of your poetry.

Catchya
Irene

[heyu]

G'day and welcome Keith

Great Australia Day poem mate.  Hope we see lots more of your work.

Cheers..............heyu

[Keith Collicoat]

Hello and thanks for the welcome Ric, Manfred, Irene and Heyu. Your site is a beauty, I already checked
out the Poetry writing tips and some of the index, and look forward to going through the whole site.
Had a brief look at some of your poems in the the members poetry section of the forum and am
inspired by all that I have read. I will check out the other sections soon,
in the meantime here's another rhyme, about pumpkin scones.

Training hard, day and night,
practice making scones just right.
trying out old wives tricks,
to come up with the perfect mix.
 
flo's famous recipe i exalt,
sugar, butter, eggs and salt.
boil the pumpkin half an hour,
and mix it in before the flour.
 
seventeen scones to the tray,
bake in oven, that's the way.
then, when you smell the sweet perfume,
you know they're ready to consume.

[zondrae]

Welcome Keith,

I love your Australia Day poem. In particular I am impressed with the rhymes you have used. Very inovative and pleasing. (to my ear anyway) It is great to have another contributor to the site. You will find us a friendly eclectic mob. But watch out for Ric. He'll get ya if you use yankie slang! We are Blokes and Sheilas and Fellas!

[Keith Collicoat]

Hey Zondrae, thanks for the welcome and the tip re Ric, I'm glad you liked my poem.

[Bernard de Silva]

G'day Keith, and welcome to the mob.
                Good to see a new writer getting straight on with the job and giving us something to enjoy.
                           Cheers Mate,
                                            Bernie.

[Keith Collicoat]

G'day Bernie, thanks for your welcome.

[Ric Raftis]

But watch out for Ric. He'll get ya if you use yankie slang! We are Blokes and Sheilas and Fellas!

Zondrae, I am mortified!!  As a moderator, such heavy responsibilities also fall to you!!

[Keith Collicoat]

G'dday Ric, Good to see youse moderator blokes are up so early.

[manfredvijars]

... mortified? .... MORTIFIED ? ? ? ...  ... (I woulda used "morsel fried" m'self)

Great word Ric ... multi-syllabic too ... 

[Irene]

Keith
Not sure where you come from, but I have discovered that people on the east coast all have insomnia - I get up in the morning and check the site, and find posts that have been entered in middle of the night!!!
They haven't got up early - they just haven't got to bed!!   

IRene

[Keith Collicoat]

Hi Irene, I live in Buderim, Queensland, and being retired i try to get up around 0500 to make the most
of my retirement, and send out an email (The Almost daily email) to a group of friends. This email
usually includes a photo, that i have taken, with a couple of words and on special days like Christmas,
New Year and Australia day and at various other times, when i get inspired, I include a rhyme with the
photo. Here is one that i did in 2003, it's called "Ekka Dexter champ".

despite the weather warning
they gathered here this morning,
to pick a champion dexter cow,
from queensland's very best.
 
the judges agreed on how,
without dissent or row,
that the cow from out the west,
would get the champion's vest.
 
bircham royal acclaim
was the winner's proper name,
and the owners had to laugh,
as she posed for photos, with her calf.