Anzac Day Reflections - 1986 Poem by Joanne Elliott

Boisterous, singing men trapped in bars by memories
War Memorial
Lone soldier on his sword, reminds us of war's futility.
Omnipresence at St. Mary's
Madonna and the candles, forty cents a wish.
Ritual, locking the yearning into my heart
Splendid release as I walk into the sunshine.

Biennale - we wander soulfully through the artists' hidden selves.
The rag doll, the bouncing ball, the empty chair belong to us all.
Old memories of Blacktown show ghosts of long ago

The click of the slide projector reminds
Us of the heartbeat that will one day end
Alexander Buzo reading from the gallery, looking embarrassed in his Pickering cap
Young girls titter at the wrong/right times
The long black road to nowhere,
Hiroshima.

At the Domain advantageous Christadelphians with short back and sides, arguing for Armageddon.
The Frasers in stilts left long ago
One memory persists
At McDonalds a cookie colored woman in socks and soft shoes
Wanted to talk but I didn't have time.