Kit Kelen #1141 - nostalgia

1141

nostalgia

remember when there was a God in Heaven?

the truth was full of Bibles

if you go back that far…

we sang God Save the Queen or King

there were lots of capital letters

there was proper punctuation then

there were no politics at all

or was

now it’s an accusation

people want to know why

and why because

kookaburras laughed it all off

irony was yet to be invented

how right we all were then

right as rain when heaven was

how happy grazing

what certainty our farmers had!

poison the blacks and none the wiser

but there were ones not like that

and they were real white men

poor white men!

wry, laconic

teachers all malign them

now we have no truth

fake news

and may I grope!

no, mustn’t ask

it always spoils the thing

remember the starving everywhere

and finish what’s on your plate

sit up straight

seen and sometimes muffled

remember Rolf Harris?

Jimmy Savile (lovely letters still after his name)?

remember Cardinal Pell?

and all those priests who’d play with the kiddies?

God was so right for their patch

these days before the Flood, the Fire

what silences we built back then

all washed of wonder

nothing passed

remember we danced on the head of a pin

and got away with murder?

then paint was a canvas thrown from here

and needn’t mean a thing

painting was just colour then

nothing ached

skin was clear

erection strong

you could go on for hours

then there was no point of view

we were naturals back then

when boys were boys

we had a genius for it

how far we were from these our deaths

and nothing bitter but tonic with snifter

if the coolies toiled

and we were borne about – white gods!

everyone towed the line

or else

they’d soon find themselves

on the mat

with the back of my hand

good clip over the box on the ears

and six of the best to boot

might right

weren’t those the best of days

built character

we knew an enemy then –

there were the reds and the yellow peril

the commonwealth still pink

when we were scarce commodity

remember the wireless crackle of fact?

yes

so much of the good stuff still plays today

so many wives to haunt men

but it’s not the same as it was then

graves are just too good for them

we need a ducking chair

democracy?

we voted as one man!

we had a pronoun for everything

none of this slippery ms

or lbg and their alphabet soup

it was all God in His Heaven did it

there were no politics back then

remember when women and blacks

had few wages, less rights?

everyone nodded along

remember the empire

and no questions asked

remember before the word ‘gay’

when poofs knew their place

(and we still want our wainbow back)

remember the War, the Depression

peace! and knives we sharpened

guns we sold

and sit up straight

hands on heads

we came in quickly, quietly

we sat and soaked it all in

no politics in that

of our times too it will be said

remember the trees and the forests

and air, the insects

things getting better

ah those were the good old days!

the days when nobody knew