Gay marriage - who needs it?

Views in verse - on equal rights.  

I just read an article by Rob Burgess describing Australia as "exemplar to the world" on matters relating to multi-culturalism. I couldn't agree more. He further notes "we all have our problems ...but we are all Australians". Noble and true.

The boat people all find a home here (despite the political view) and they end up enjoying full status here as citizens. Advance Australia fair!

Meantime ...our politicians continue to demonise our gay minorities by their 'at arm's length' responses to popular opinion on the matter at hand (gay marriage).

Coupling the above matters I see a clear anomaly. Why are we so willing to bend or break all social norms in relation to migrants (and we do!) and yet continue to deny our own sons and daughters on a slim pretence of 'religious values'? Beats me ...? Are we that bloody religious anyhow?

Right of Passage

It's your time 

Lovely boy

your hard work's almost done

Acceptance wasn't easy

in a school designed for some

Your progression has been honest

Your plans so well thought through

Adulthood came quickly 

from your trials

Yet it'll take time

Lovely boy

to see a fairer state

In a society
designed just for some

Why do politicians we elect

hide so well from truth?

Can we allow this 

mere 'opinion on the run' ?

Own the space

Lovely boy

look to those who lead

Accept things you can't change

yet fight for what you need

Equal rights are there for all

no matter how it often seems
Don't let anybody

keep you
from your dreams!!!

Forwarded from my iPhone - Grahame J Flynn

JFK et al ...how did they really bring about change?

Views in Verse -

On change agents

JFK et al ...how did they really bring about change?

Politicians sometimes can get remarkable credit for their chosen social mandates; but how is real change actually delivered at the coalface? It cannot be done without immense support from all layers of society - the arts included. Even, dare I suggest ...rockstars?

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs 
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
was required
for open thought to breed

Dylan survived
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it served enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon alone
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free


From my I-pad - Grahame Flynn

The Vet and 'the regret' ...but whoever was to blame eh?

Views in Verse - on duty. 


We all recall our first day on the job ...mine carries lasting memories and a few regrets. Our Vietnam soldiers came back to Australia to a hostile political climate and an unresponsive public; who felt we'd fought an unnecessary war. Many of us (to our discredit) took that out on our returning soldiers as though they were part of the problem.





I am not sure who was to blame for this in retrospect but I wish that I was better personally prepared for it at the time. I went on to meet several 'vets' who clearly should have been counselled on release. Too many of these (I'm sure) suffered more on their return to our civilised society than perhaps they may have done overseas - despite the horrors they witnessed there.


Frank & Errol

Whoever can forget
their first full day at work
Your collar too tight
around your neck
silently dreading the worst

I was fine for half of the day
till I met my new boss - Frank
He spoke in a dark
irreverent way
my hope for enjoying work sank

At first sighting
He called out "Errol...
you look like a right-side man!"
There was broken laughter
across the office
and so my lessons began

His jokes all seemed
in such bad taste
He invaded my thinking some way
I slipped off to the bathroom
trying to calm myself
lest my mouth too go astray

When from a booth behind me
I hear:
"fresh from school today...'?
I couldn't wait
to get outta there
but his words had a softer play

Chatting to me in this way
it seemed quite normal to him
As I tried to walk
he continued to talk
as though we were now close friends

Then he closed
with a flourish
"see you later young Errol Flynn!"
"I've got some paperwork
that I have to do here...!"
"We'll continue our chat therein"

My man was ready
On the stroke of five
to end his day with flair
He clicked his heels
with gay abandon and
farted from up in mid air!

No luck running...
...again on the bus
he opened up right there and then
A Vietnam 'vet'...
"yes ..I am boy..."
"I'm...proud to be a 'vet'"

He signed up...
no draft required
"I carry no regret..."
"I left home
to take up arms
"Our country was under threat"

His war stories came
with a character voice and
a silly giggle laced...
But the longer I knew him
the more I found
the giggle seemed right in it's place

The stories he told
were brutal,
...sickly, bizarre...
Sleeping for him
he said was always
"just so bloody hard"

I didn't really want to listen
that's fair to say
but he'd served our country's call
The owner, Col,
was a fellow 'vet' too
Yet, he didn't talk much at all

With the flow of the years...
Frank went back over
to find himself some way
Each time he'd return alone
"I don't need love!"
he'd openly say

A friend just told me:
"Frankie's gone...
gone back to his maker for good"
well, I hope in the end
he found some peace
and so he rightly should

For he just didn't fit in
wherever he went
A 'rough diamond' that's for sure
He apologised to no one
for the stance he took
Would've baulked at heaven's door



from my Ipad - Grahame J Flynn

Some say 'lipstick on a pig'...

Views in Verse - on 'being there'. 

Some say 'lipstick on a pig'...

but Sydney's Kings Cross sure comes alive by night

Sydney's Kings Cross (just east of the main city) is it's traditional nightclub zone. Over the past fifty years the sprawl of Sydney has led to a lack of real reinvestment in this entertainment heartland. 

So it lacks a little of the gloss of bygone years but is never short of atmosphere and surprisingly never short of patrons and visitors despite its fearsome image as a playground to the underworld.

out on the street tonight

The heat of the day

melts into night

as I step into Bayswater Road

The searing presence of

'pizza a-fire'

drives a tempting whiff up my nose

I haven't eaten at all

not since lunch

this day's left me dazed alright

I'll grab a quick bite

after finding the lads

out on the street tonight

Cars try to pierce

the meandering mob

amongst it a few hard stares

But they'll circle about

trying to figure things out

cause you just can't park anywhere

Apart from the odd

'no-go-zone'

the area's bathed in light

The Cross's on show

...I'm ready to go 

out on the street tonight

The bars spill out onto sidewalk,

our 'usual'...

...punters galore!

I look around for the guys...?

to no surprise...

still stuck with the parking I'm sure!

There's a spot over there

...seems a few chairs

I grab a middy of light

Happy awhile...

To watch the people file by

out on the street tonight

The girls nearby are

'pissed & rowdy' 

Probably been here some time

From what I see

...three bottles down

just a little too much red wine

My tribe arrives...

...well I see five

others are still out of sight

"Bloody busy" Tim says

 "...it's done in my head

out on the street tonight"

Off we go

and do the rounds

the club strip is 'alight'

You dodge the spruikers

...the odd garbled offer...

and the world is feeling alright

So now I'm here

and glad I came

The Cross sure has it's delights

Excitement is high for

what you might find later

out on the street tonight

from my Ipad - Grahame J Flynn

One for the rappers...

Views in Verse - on simplicity.


Hey ...pass it on to Jay-Z


Double Entendre

I had a double entendre 

the other day...

Stopped me in my tracks

Turned around 

went straight on home

Without even looking back

Life is a complex piece of work

Always tricking you up

Things should be clearer

Things should be straight

None of this vague kind-a stuff

Next time it happens 

I'll choose to ignore it 

and not let it rule my head

We must 

in life 

be more decisive

Not going home to bed

From my I pad - Grahame Flynn