Best Australian Poems – Poetry for Australia Day

Poetry for Australia Day

We are approaching Australia Day, 26 January.  Since this is a poetry blog our minds might turn to familiar poets who have written over the years. Some classic ladies like Dorothea MacKellar and Mary Gilmore stand out. Perhaps some of the gents such as A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson (a reading of ‘Clancy of the Overflow’ here) or Henry Lawson spring to mind. Maybe the humourous, like C.J. Dennis, with his ‘Glugs of Gosh’, captivated other readers too.  But there have been many, many other poets since them.  I keep returning to Les Murray and Bruce Dawe.  But, I am always on the lookout for others.

    Black Inc. Publishing have been giving readers a selection of Best Poems for some  years. Although I have not yet finished reading through it, I would like to send out a  shout to Black Inc. and Geoff Page, who have given us the 2015 edition.  We look forward to the 2016 edition.

What are your favourite Australian poets or poems?

 

 

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A Pope Francis Ethic?

‘Religious Police’

have me mending my ways.

There’s nothing like rattan [cane]

For helping one praise.

I’m halfway to heaven;

with God I’ve made peace.

He tells me hell’s full of

‘Religious Police’.

Geoff Page, ‘Religious Police’ in Cloudy Nouns, (2012: 54-55)

Excerpts from Geoff Page’s poem ‘Religious Police’ provide a handy preamble to this post on Pope Francis.  As a Catholic I find Pope Francis refreshing. What follows is an impression of his life and recent interview with Jesuit media. It does not reflect official views.  It was written some weeks ago, but, time… well… it gets away.

A POPE FRANCIS ETHIC

Mesmerised

by the man

Francis:

Pope

and person

Who speaks

with actions

as much

as with words.

Stunned

some were

By his reportedly

shift in emphasis

of the ‘big ticket’

moral slogans.

Some

sadly

secure within their

insecurity,

need to hear

the words

“abortion”

“euthanasia”,

as if

pencilling places

in a pre-packed profile

that

convention commands

a Pope must do.

But Francis,

surprised us again!

Is he really

departing

from the ‘done thing’?

Or is he inviting,

coaxing us,

to ponder why

we do or say

what we do?

Might he be drawing us

to delve deeper?

To dive the depths

of the waters

of our baptismal faith,

to come to know

the wellspring,

Christ himself,

and why his actions,

and words

mean that we

speak and live

in a certain way.

Is he training us

to stand aside

from our supposed role,

as

sentinels safeguarding

systems of statutes?

Away from being

intense inquisitors,

to be a cheerful charitable.

That we may be people

living like persons

who follow a

personal God

who loved us first,

and then,

called us

to live

in that love,

sharing it with others.

We are not

people of a book,

important

as Bible and Catechism may be.

They are not the living God,

but commentaries

and pointers,

helping us to enter

into the conversation,

with God whom they describe.

There comes a time,

when just knowing about God

falls away.

And then,

we must meet

with God.

God shown to us

in witnesses,

like Pope Francis,

who invite us

to also encounter

God for ourselves,

that we too

may then

also

be witnesses.

23 September 2013.