ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Finally got past the trilby, Shelley...


The Bilby

Hello there, I’m the bilby, and a native of this land.
I’ve lived here for a long time, and I’ll have you understand
Your Anglo-Saxon rituals are not my cup of tea.
Celebrate them as you wish but please, don’t turn to me.

Out here in the desert sands, life’s pretty black and white,
And what determines life and death determines wrong and right.
As for resurrection and forgiveness of the soul,
I ask for nothing other than a warm and cosy hole.

So when it comes to Easter, and explaining chocolate eggs,
Please do not think involving me in any way has legs.
You have your little bunny that you brought here on your ship,
So take responsibility and get a proper grip!

He served you well enough back home on England’s distant shore,
What would you want to meddle with your English customs for?
I heard no talk of Easter till the bunnies turned up here,
And don’t see any signs that they’re about to disappear,

So spare me, please, recruitment in your quaint but foreign ways.
Each time I hear your Easter tale, my eyes begin to glaze.
I’m not a furry critter to be signed up to your band.
I’m a self-respecting bilby, and a native of this land!

© Stephen Whiteside 17.06.2018

I agree Stephen, this bilby thing is a forced commercial stunt. Are they going to replace the little drummer boy with the little didgeridoo boy. Spare us !!!! ( that could be a challenge for your imaginative verse )

Thanks, Neville. It did occur to me that the big weakness of this poem is that the 'cup of tea' is a very English ritual. Methinks the bilby should take a little more care with its choice of metaphor, but - what the hell! - I decided to leave it in.

Well done Stephen! A very imaginative way to personify the Bilby!

I like the “cup of tea” because as I read that line I took it as satire ... the use of an “oh so British” term in a mocking sense if you like.

By the way I noticed a typo in your topic title, which was saying “Billy” instead of “Bilby”. I’ve corrected it with my moderator hat on.

Cheers
Shelley

Thanks, Shelley.

Love it Stephen and those bloody bunnies are a curse and who really wants to eat Bilbys anyway they are far too cute for that.

Thanks, Maureen. Yes, let's just keep those bunnies laying eggs. Why would anybody want to change that?