Page 12 - eMuse Vol.9 No.06_Classical

Our defence line is assembling
An army unlike any before
There is a new breed of soldier
Bravely advancing to the fore

Ambos, nurses and doctors
Have replace warriors bearing arms
Mental health workers needed
With their comforting charms
Dedicated scientists
In laboratory gowns of white
These modern day “Boffins”
Are researching day & night
Volunteers step up once more
All willing and eager to share
The Keeper Making unselfish offerings
To march in the Army of Care
of the Gate Behind highlighted scenes
Growing support for frontline troops
Nourishment and medical supplies
Provided by other essential groups
He sleeps beside the second gate, ‘neath the shade of the iron bark, But our Nation’s greatest strength
To record his loss, a wooden cross had left its caring mark, Comes from those who self-isolate
A tiny fragile monument ‘mongst the leaf and the sand upturned, Forgoing the pleasures of society
Above the grave where the trees take air to sing… an anthem to a To protect stranger, family, mate
warrior dog called King.
So in the coming years ahead
He’d earned his spurs on a patch of turf on a stepped rectangle’s core, When we give thanks on ANZAC Day
Alert, on guard, through the star crossed yard… and when the sun Remember those who fought COVID-19
rifled down the bore, And the sacrifices our civilians had to pay
He knew every blade in the back yard, where the boundaries
unfenced, led, © Tony Caswell (The Goodna Gunna) 12/04/2020
Every ochred dot in the house brickwork… every sheet in the big I normally have the honour of doing a poem for Goodna State School on the 24th and sometimes the same or another
iron shed. one for the Goodna ANZAC Day service on the 25th April. As no service this year I will send it to Joy Moroney, Secretary
of Goodna RSL Branch, and she can forward it to whoever she wishes. Hope someone gets something from it . Thanks
His bright bold heart would carve a path in a family’s prime aorta, to Wendy, my wife, who encouraged me to get out of bed and jot down the thoughts I had running through my head.
Through Greg and Bronnie and their three sons… and Cody, their
only daughter,
In tune with the bigger picture, alarmed when the kids were late, CAN YOU KEEP THE PACE
Fireball… furball… playmate… lethal Keeper of the Gate.
Alive to the threat of fang or force, and the clink of every leaf that fell,
Aligned to the lessons that the teachers stirred when Greenbank They try to tell us we’re getting craggy and old
“You better slow down”, is the message we’re told
rang her bell, “Take it easy, relax, sit down and rest,
And then in sad procession from his fiercely guarded loam, listen to us, because for you, we know what is best”
The patron saint of the great gate keepers had called the big bloke
home, Do they think they know what is on our mind?
And there with the Southern Cross in flight, I sensed by the gate a Is it they, or us, who are going blind?
guiding light, Why should we be the ones to take it slow?
A peaceful, all-encompassing thing… a mantle of safety… instilled While our love of life continues to grow
by a King.
For we have climbed our mountains to conquer nearly all
Whereas those following could stumble and fall
Don’t they know we have the wisdom to advice?
If they only ask, they too may make it over the rise
AUSTRALIA IS AT WAR Some say we are in the twilight of our years
With memories of happiness, joy, hardship and tears

So try and keep pace with us, is our dare, to the young
“Australia is at war” But there are still challenges to face and songs to be sung
Our leaders daily declare © Tony Caswell (TC The Goodna Gunna) 18/09/1999
We are being invaded
By a poisonous touch and air Presented at a function for Senior Citizens Week at the old Goodna RSL 3/10/1999 after being asked by a member if
I would do a few poems for them. It has become a sort of a trademark poem whenever I do a show for the “Oldies”
Coronavirus is the new found enemy TC 20/11/2005
It attacks through deadly stealth
It has taken away our freedom a|b
It has crippled our country’s wealth
12 eMuse May 2020