page-58
DEAD ON ARRIVAL
one fine day the seed of a native tree
floated down from somewhere familiar
yet unfamiliar/
i noticed the drab olive mountains rising
in the distance/ frowning/ deep in thought/
i became suspicious/ & worried for my
safety/
the seed had embedded itself in the crack of
my pavement/ a permanent fixture of australiana/
in this our bicentenial year/
a coincidence/ although i feared some invasion
of aboriginals/ or perhaps the japanese
soon after/
fortunately no-one came/
i contacted the council who were all do-gooders
they said/ we are greening this city & are
cleaning the sewerage from the lake/ after
this incident/ strange to say the least/
i'd had just about all a citizen could take/
& an australian one at that/
i have never liked the species of wattle anyway/
they are noxious & vermin/ an allergic reaction/
& above all a pest/ they make me sneeze to
say the least/
& i have never liked the mess they make/
thus the tresspass of such a seed was inexcusable/
as a result of this intrusion/ i punished its
new growth severely/ & dropped its husk into
the kitchen tidy/
sadly it died | 
