(After the Federal Election, fearing more welfare cuts)
Where to from here?
And how to proceed?
I do the things
I must and can
to make my wheels go round.
I fold the washing, notice
the dishes are getting
too high in the sink
and the bookshelf needs a dust.
Later this afternoon
I might go grab a swim
in the heated pool.
Doctor's orders, and for now
I can still get Pensioner discount.
Time to get out of
the dressing-gown,
the politics,
even the poems;
to clean my house
and care for the cat.
Time to oil the everyday wheels
and try not to worry about
the way the vehicle of state
keeps looking smaller,
frailer, more ramshackle.
Try not think that the people
who write the instructions
might have lost their grip
when testing the handle-bars.
I'm used to being frugal.
I still manage to donate
food every month to the homeless.
I don't say, ‘They’re not my concern.’
Wouldn't you think...
Possibly the subtitle and the last verse will be best understood by Australians, in the light of specific recent government policies and utterances.
See also
Linking to The Tuesday Platform at 'imaginary garden with real toads'
Possibly the subtitle and the last verse will be best understood by Australians, in the light of specific recent government policies and utterances.
See also
Linking to The Tuesday Platform at 'imaginary garden with real toads'
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way today. Affairs of state are so gobbledy-gook, I will clean my house, too, in solidarity with you, a fellow pensioner. And isnt it true, it is those who have the least who often do much of the giving? I have always found this to be true.
ReplyDeleteoh yes, and don't you wish they would clean their house, too! :) Hello Rosemary. I'm so glad I have found you :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad too, Efi!
DeleteI don't say, ‘They’re not my concern.’
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you think...
That is right, Rosemary! Irrespective of what the govt does it is imperative that one carries on doing what morally is expected and life goes on!
Hank
I agree. I also think, if I can do that on my income, maybe governments don't have to choose between a healthy economy and adequate welfare – though they often present matters to the pubic as if that was the necessary choice.
DeleteI think we need more people spending time on others than themselves... love the vehicle of the state metaphor.
ReplyDeleteI think we also need governments that don't think economic management and humanitarianism are mutually exclusive.
DeleteThere is a lot of election fever around the world at present. It creates a lot of uncertainty.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is the ordinary, the every day bits of life that allow us to move..I like how you juxtapose this with the "vehicle of state" and their reckless actions -- I can feel this in America too.
ReplyDeleteThere is a powerlessness I feel when faced with the whole situation! Well said!
ReplyDeleteRosemary, your last stanza is hear and felt here, in Canada, as well. As we, Canadians have tossed out a very mean Conservative government after a decade of them, in power. Do hope, compassion and hope, rule the day, in Australia.
ReplyDeleteAny time you can spare Mr Trudeau, we'd be so happy to have him!
DeleteThis is so well done - weaving in the small concerns of life as larger national events crowd in.
ReplyDeleteEveryone seems to feel the inhumaneness in policies of those who write the rules; we hope to elect the best for the job but are generally let down...hence, the underlying thoughts of concern for our neighbor, ourselves, our world that are difficult to filter out these days. We carry the weight of the world in our hearts.
ReplyDeleteI'm still hoping that the Libs get pushed out....All we can do is keep chipping away for change. Historically it takes a while but it does happen.
ReplyDeleteYou are far from alone in that hope – or that plan!
DeleteVery good advice. Thank you. k.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. I wasn't meaning it as advice, though – unless it is to 'keep on keeping on' – more a matter of necessity.
DeleteYes, Rosemary, I would think. We are in a dreadful state here in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteSooo many Vets living under bridges, trying to exist while hiding from the atrocities they've seen.
Sooo many kids in school from families that can't afford three meals a day, many schools now have free breakfasts for any and all the kids. If they're not real poor they go to private schools to avoid the riff-raff.
Sooo many shootings for reasons or not, a lot by the cops. Last weekend 60+ were killed, our Houston only had three drive by shootings.
On the bright side, I loved the Pensioner discounts in Sydney. We rode trains, busses, and fairy boats all day long for $5. Go there and treat yourself for three or four nights in a nice hotel, life like a tourist, and your will get a 'lift'.
..
..
Dear Jim, you make me thankful after all to be here and not there.
DeleteMany thanks for the suggestion, but I intensely dislike Sydney. Except for the Art Gallery, which is wonderful. I do sometimes go there especially to see one of the temporary exhibitions, and then I stay with an old friend who lives there now.