The Winds Of Change.

I felt the winds of change in 1989,

When the Berlin Wall came down.

I was 19 years old and it felt like Freedom was all around.

 

I could feel the winds of change blowing

When John Howard announced the gun

Buy-Back scheme after

The Port Arthur Massacre.

 

I heard the winds of change screaming

When John Howard was defeated by

Kevin Rudd in 2007, after

11 years of conservative oblivion.

 

I basked in the winds of change

When Julia Guillard became our first

Female Prime Minister and schooled

Tony Abbott on misogyny.

 

I sailed on the winds of change

When Barrack Obama became the first

Black man to be elected president of

The United States of America.

 

I tasted the winds of change

When Scott Morrison lost to Albanese

And people on welfare would finally

Be allowed their dignity.

 

I marvelled at the winds of change

When women marched on mass

To Parliament House, calling for an end

To Domestic Violence.

 

I no longer feel the winds of change

Making my skin prickle,

Pushing the blood a little faster

Through my veins.

 

Change has been promised

Too many times and never arrived,

Leaving me unable to rebuild hope

From the rubble of what remains.

 

©Shaun Green 2024

Hold Tight.

Hold tight

Hold tight to love

Hold tight

Hold tight to freedom

Hold tight

 

Hold tight to hope

 

Hold tight

 

Hold tight to ideas

 

Hold tight

 

Hold tight to friends

 

Hold tight

 

Hold tight to history

 

Hold tight

 

Hold tight to democracy

 

Hold tight

But not too tight

Because if you hold too tight

To love it becomes hate

And if you hold too tight

To freedom it becomes fanaticism

Hold too tight to hope

It becomes delusion

Hold too tight to ideas

They become ideology

Hold too tight to friends

They become enemies

Hold too tight to history

And it becomes HIS story

Hold too tight to democracy

It becomes fascism

 

So hold tight

Hold tight…

But not too tight

 

 

 

©Shaun Green 2024

Is Anybody Asking The Narcissists: Are You OK?

It’s a thankless task,

Trawling the narcissists

To see if they’re Ok.

Sometimes we see

Someone’s Facebook page

Drop to less than three posts a day.

That’s when we know we need to act,

To add a smiley face, love heart,

Or like so they can go their way

Through their day,

Solid in the knowledge

That the world has got their back

And cares about the lack

Of attention the waiter paid

To the water level 

In their dog’s bowl

Or the level of froth 

On their child’s

Bambichino, because, you know,

These things matter!

Like zucchini flowers in batter!

If your go to café doesn’t

Serve them right,

Then a war crimes trial 

Is pending.

So what else is trending?

Beauty tips for ugly people,

Super diets for fat people,

Plastic surgery tips,

Chick pea and lemon dips,

Hot bods doing workouts,

Feeling the burn in those quads,

Lats and abs as they crush

Those crunches and run 50 laps.

Thumbs up, clapping hands, 

Love hearts💖💖💖💖

We have to keep them loving themselves,

Because without them,

The internet would just be a desert,

Populated by interesting people

Who just want to talk to each other.

And that is not a business plan

Anyone can sell.

 

©Shaun Green 2024