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