Welcome to the blogspot of Melbourne writer, Elizabeth Jane

Welcome to the blogspot of Melbourne writer, Elizabeth Jane

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Australian country towns

Hot, wide streets
Hotels
A post office
And a mechanics institute
All from a bygone era
A Chinese restaurant
Always a Chinese restaurant
With a numbered menu
The roadhouse
A caravan park
And a budget motel
Sometimes even a cafe
With a cappuccino machine
Though not always good coffee
Depends how many tourists
Tree changers
Retirees
The Memorial Hall - lest we forget
And an Anzac statue
The oval, of course
With cars parked around the edge
Netball courts
A cinder playground with a locked bin
State registered school
Empty churches
A small district hospital
The nursing home on the edge of town
Old men shuffling head down in the hot, dry wind

2 comments:

Chris Bell said...

Fabulous, evocative poem, Liz.

I found myself in the main street.

Chris

Guernsey Girl said...

Brilliant - I read it twice!