background
April 16, 2017

Alternate Life

Alternate Life

They power walk
‘Round in wind n rain,
Hittin’ the ball oft
For little gain.

Rehash @ the bar
Highlights of last game.
Racin’ their mates
On hot rod tracks,

Crashin’ n wrecking

Next week they’ll be back
As the barbie smoke lingers,
Hot rods drift
Well in the night.

Burning the candle each end t
To achieve a start in gymkhanas,
Payin’ feed bills n fees.

All that was needed
Early in life
Was a chance on the road
Carting cattle @ night

And just before daybreak
Rain drizzlin’
Changing a tyre
Before checking your load
Make sure they’re all standin’
‘Fore it’s back on the road.

Home to the missus,
Kids, bills n fees.
Home to the shed
Fixin’ last trips loose bits,
Home to the pub
An’ a few of your mates,
Them on the road,
Kickin’ back from last trip.

Keepin’ up with the yoga
Out on the track,
Holdin’ position,
Strainin’ your back.
An awkward loose bolt
Holding the stack.

There’s time to reflect
By flooded creeks.
After abusing,
Each time wasting prick
Who held up the loading
With smokos n lunch
An’ parts coming late,
Fixin’ loose bits.

Time to reflect
An’ soak up the quiet,
River runs silent,
Gums softly sigh.

Watchin’ a roo
Sip @ the creek,
Coals glowing softly,
Outback TV.

Don’t need a tour guide
Up front of the mob,
Stars twinkle in thousands,
Milky Way’s leading on.

Sometimes meditating
May go on for days.
Ants in their thousands,
Regimental parades.

Kangaroos n cattle
Come in for a drink,
Emus stalk by
Working wide of the camp,
Comin’ in closer,
Dashing off n away.

Power-walkin’ around,
Back drinking black tea,
Tin dog for tucker
An’ a few Kimberley cold beers.

Attended the yoga
Tightening bolts.
Greased truck-n-trailer
Pumped up the tyres.

Gazed @ the river
An’ outback TV,
Turned into the swag
In an alternate life.

JT.

Buy my novel “The Ute”

The Ute is now available at Lulu.com. Click the image . . .
the ute book by john taylor now available at Lulu.com

Enter your email address and get a Poet Down Under poem sent directly to your inbox each Friday

Delivered by Google's FeedBurner


John's novel "The Ute" is now physical

the ute novel physical copy
Available from Lulu.com in Paperback (pictured) for AU$24.99
◎ Now available at Lulu.com (Digital ePUB version) for AU$3.50
◎ Also available on iTunes and Barnes & Noble book stores.
◎ 1st edition of "The Ute" (34pp shorter) still available on Kindle (Kindle)
◎ For our US friends, A "ute" is a utility vehicle; a pickup truck.
JT on Facebook
PaperbackElectronic
Weight 0.41kg0kg
Pages 238ppbig writing 2000pp
Dimensions (cm)14.81 x 20.984 dimensional


No Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *