Down under, we’re told the age of entitlement is over for all

To reduce the debt, “shoulders to the wheel” is the official call

Aussie pensioners are quickly seen as an easy touch

Thus Canberra plans to steal more of what already isn’t much

 

Ned Kelly and Robin Hood robbed the rich to give to the poor

Now it’s the other way round with Pollys stealing more and more

In the new world of rip offs, the con is more refined and very clever

Leaving Aussie battlers with even less income for ever and ever

 

The irony is incompetence by those in charge of the vault

Where wining and dining and wasteful expenditures never did halt

Then finally came a desperate wakeup whining call

“The Treasury is stone motherless bare and cobwebs on the wall”

 

Duty and sacrifice in yesteryears kept us united, proud and tall

Yet today, Canberra Suits decide such rules are not for all

It’s a slap in face for our seniors who sweated, toiled and did their bit

To be sacrificial lambs in this poorly organized and hypocritical hit

 

Missing is leadership by conceited false gods as they travel the land

Sometime even with family in business seats so grand

Flying so far away for social events they have contrived

Don’t forget the extra perks after they have arrived

 

The pension scheme is no longer what it was intended to do

It has been exploited by greedy Canberra Suits and more than a few

Thus the rich get richer and the poor get poorer by the day

Please God, remove this terrible blight and show us another way

               (With apologies to the odd fair dinkum rep wearing a Canberra suit)

George Mansford ©January  2017

 

Our Tom, Always on Parade

Father Time captures all and it will always be

Yet never to be stolen are images of this hero to see

Clad with courage, honour, duty first and love of nation

Leadership by example was always his station

Stand fast as this warrior draped with his beloved flag passes by

A soldier’s soldier who lives in our hearts and will never die

GM 16 January 2017

                Dedicated to Jack Lynch and all the others who flew the metal chariots night and day

Does the sound of a helicopter bring back memories, you ask?

Yes, like a flash, no matter where I am or whatever my task

So many flickering fragmented scenes I can hear and see

Of courage, mateship, humour as well as death and misery

The sound of rotor blades is an electric link to the past for me

In an arena of hostile green, strange and far from anywhere

A gladiator’s simple delight was hearing faint wockings in the air

As each turn of the beating blades grew louder in familiar tone

The sound was a strong message that you were far from being alone

It signaled a precious link to your distant and beloved home

 

When such trusty machines landed with resupply and precious mail

It raised spirits (a scented letter from a sweetheart never did fail)

It was so comforting to read that all was well with family far away

The magic of the pen provided powerful strength for many a day

Sharing news and dreams in whispers at night wherever we lay

 

The metal chariots brought fresh young faces to join our weary band

From civilian street in peaceful OZ to cannon fodder in a foreign land

They were eager to do well and yet with a touch of doubt and fear

Like all reinforcements on day one, wet behind the ears

They had to learn fast and be prepared for pain and tears

 

Many times this noisy bird hovered to winch out wounded and dead

Supported by the gunships which spat out death at the enemy ahead

They were our umbilical cord with a world of sanity so far way

Always was the excitement when the Woks came to take us home

To shower, eat fresh food, drink and sleep before again we did roam

 

Now our ranks are thinner and for missing comrades, often a tear

We still march proud on that special day every year

High above is the haunting noise we knew so well from yesterday

An ancient metal warrior passes by, beating blades as if in a fray

And you ask me if the sound brings back memories this very day?

George Mansford © November 2016

Listen to the Huey sounds here, especially the last 45 seconds.