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Parody on a poem called "My Country," written by Dorethea Mackellar See site for original poem. http://www.imagesaustralia.com/mycountry.htm

B 35 Pg 20

I don’t love Australia

Parody on a poem called "My Country," written by Dorethea Mackellar

I don’t love Australia having,

patrolled borders far and wide.

Of people becoming more and more insular day by day

from the troubles of the world outside.

I don’t love Australia’s exploitation of people,

where indigenousness people’s rights so often seem to come last.

Treated as a minor population,

along with Australia’s growing ‘poorer class’

And I don’t love this countries sheepish nature,

it’s wiliness to follow the worldly powers that be.

That’s not the country I fell in love with,

that’s not the larrikin spirit of people’s ‘proud and free.’

I don’t love its ‘one nation’ leanings,

where one nation doesn’t really mean a ‘collective we.'

That’s not truly what this land was founded on,

on ideologies of freedom and true democracy!

I don’t love Australia’s internal fighting,

it’s growing unease that there is 'never enough to go round.’

Where there’s constant friction between city dwellers

and the folks living in the towns.

No that’s not the wide brown land for me!

And so;

now when I look up to the southern stars

I often think to myself and lament,

I no longer love, ‘Australia.’

© Written by Dominic John Gill www.poetry.net.au  dominicj7@poetry.net.au Feb 10 2002