Wednesday 7 December 2016

my father - Poetry by Bill Hannan



my father dealt in dicta
I’m a Labor man he’d say
they fed a lot of canaries white bread
and they all died he’d announce
sausage wrapper he interjected
when the orator quoted The Herald

since he was a sheep man
who could tell the value of wool
by testing a fleece with his hand
I took him to a film about droving
but at the opening scene he snorted
crossbreds  and fell asleep

terse he was but he had a dream
I could see it in his eyes
as he narrowed them to scan
what lay beyond the horizon
a land where roses grew
and eucalypts prayed to lost gods

as old men are wont to do
he went to bed to die
he stayed there for a while
dreaming of the plains
he’s gone now past the horizon
and is camped where the roses grow

Editor's Note: Bill Hannan was my English and French teacher at Moreland High School in the early sixties, He has remained an engaged and engaging figure with active interests across local and Australian history, literature, politics and the arts. This is the thirteenth poem published on the Film Alert blog, an unusual element of the offering but one which has caused some very large page view numbers to occur.

But times change, things happen and now Bill has his own website where he'll be posting not only his poetry but some other stuff about his life and his talented family of poets, musicians, teachers and all round active people. You can find it by clicking here

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