I stopped to talk

I stopped to talk

Normally I would just nod

And keep walking

But the old man was spread-eagled

Under the tree

For all the world he looked dead

He smelled dead

But he always did smell like that

I hunkered down beside him

Up-wind

Cleared my throat

Of kerbside pollution

Wondering when emission tests

Would become law in Australia

‘How are you old man?’

‘Oh, I’m pretty good, right enough.’

He replied raising an eyebrow

Which was pretty much the same colour

As his skin

He might have been a redhead

Underneath the camouflage

When his eyes opened

They were wild with fever

Blue-eyed Bob

Never one for shelter

Even from a storm

‘Do you ever listen to the possums

Telling it how it is?’

He asked

‘Why do people consider themselves

Superior to animals?

But shit man listening to them dudes

Chatter through the night

Can give a fella the heebeegeebees’

In the space between one thought

And another.

‘I heard more sense last night

Than I heard people talk in a month

They were sorted man

Divided their territory

Stocked up

Cared for their families

Sang love songs

A takeover

With a bunch of crows

Ragging jazz riffs

Ready to lead a revolution

‘Are you sure about this?

It seems like you were having

A nightmare.’

‘Nope it was no nightmare

I was slap in the middle of some

Real animal politics

And the scary thing was

It all made sense

There was no sleaze

No boys club

None of those dudes disrespected

The other guy

Every one of them knew what to do,

What they were good at

Crows cawed

Whilst busting into bin bags

Possums crawled over the wires

Played happy families on rooftops

Slept the day away

Whilst Magpies mounted guard

And they all planned

To keep to their roles

For the good of the colony.’

‘Seems as if they had it sorted

‘Damn right they did man

Damn right.

No cultural misappropriation

Gender discrimination

Old boys network

Deforestation

Or mineral rights

Just freedom of expression

My man

Now you gonna stand me

For a cup of coffee

Or do you think I tell these stories

For free?’

‘I don’t carry cash.’

‘Gosh man, you’re so full of shit.’