Cyclists Plenty Poem by Raj Arumugam

i
I just bought a bicycle;
this will lighten my financial burden
for I can deliver newspapers in the morning
and with the money I earn,
what little it may be,
I can pay some part of my uni fees
and that may help lessen the burden on my parents



ii
1975; he was 59;
and everyday without fail
before four am,
he rode his bicycle to the modern immaculate cars
all lined like soldiers on parade
at the car parks below the multi-storey homes;
and he’d wash cars with pail and liquid and cloth
and water from a tap below each block
and then finish before the first moving car
and he’d be on a bus to his own day work



iii
the cyclist has all the modern equipment
and takes lesson at the local cycle centre
and looks stylish and professional and enjoys the air of leisure;
and rides through the public roads
rides in a group at the roundabout at Toowong
and makes his way to the top of Mt-cootha with his group:
there is an air of competition, of the Tour de France spirit
and such a look as: I’ll race you to the top!



iv
friend, I need to get to the next bus-stop;
if you are going that way,
could you give me a lift on your bicycle?