Turning in Circles
aaa afrom Punch On Punch Off

In the 1950s
       when the doors crept
open
       migrants & refugees
were often referred to
as   new Australians

later in the 60s
       old Australians —
were finally included
in the census

& in the early 70s
       the White Australia Policy
was officially dismantled

this was post-war Australia
       long before post-modernism
& imported Italian woollen suits
       (no value adding here)
when the Snowy Mountains
Scheme employed bogs     wogs
& dagoes
       just like the whitegoods
industry
       & the car
industry
       & the manufacturing
industry
       & the building
industry
       & most other
hands & feet industries
(’til tariffs took their toll)
       these new Australians —
they got a go
       as well as some of the
older ones
       though blacks were still
discriminated against
       & roo meat remained
petfood
       & bush tucker reserved
for missions
       yes   this was even before
the humble Lebanese cucumber
could call Australia home

now in this new millennium
my landlord is Greek
       my dentist Korean
my coffee shop Italian
       my fruit & veg Cambodian
my supermarket Vietnamese
       my smallgoods maker German
my computer man Sri Lankan
       my legal advisor Greek
my neighbours Swedish
Croatian   Prussian   & English
       my nephew & niece
Anglo-Italian
       my grand-daughter Anglo-Indian —
& my phone book half-full
of names i can barely pronounce

it’s 2001 when the Tampa sails
into history
       & a nation full of wogs
& bogs & dagoes & boat people
of all persuasions
       are scared by a container
full of wogs
       & political parties
of the so-called left & right —
turn in circles
       in concentric circles —
their greed & their power
sucking   at the vortex.