GETTING TOGETHER, TOGETHER

We Mendii gathered informally in Sydney

At Jeanne's and Rog's place on the 11th and 12th of July

three generations of us from Ceylon, NZ, Britain and Oz

to mark our arrival forty years ago ... time sure does fly

my siblings and I are the 'now generation' ... orphans

our parents having passed away giving birth to us twice

John (and Linda) were absent but represented by Kirsty

they could have said 'cooee', it would have been nice

Sydney was cold to us Qlders but the family was warm

we visitors from the north took a trip to Taronga Zoo with Jess

visited friends, the Art Gallery and the Opera House on a walkabout

rugged up like mountain climbers, feeling the cold I confess

There was some grouse tucker to consume and scads of it

everybody brought a plate in the Aussie tradition

we heaped the succulent bounty onto our plates

while imbibing, chattering and adoring the 'magi' sans condition

difficult to believe that we had our own landing in Oz

five days before man walked anywhere else but on earth

my siblings and I, like millions of others were thrilled by their feat

but nowhere near as thrilled as we were with our second birth

We'll see each other again from time to time in New South or Qld

I'd like to gather 'em all together in another 10 years time

to celebrate our 50th anni with newer progeny and gusto

but may I suggest strongly we do it in Qld, a warmer clime?

 

WHO WAS WHO AT TARONGA ZOO

While in Sydney for a family get-together

we Qld Mendii and Jess went to the zoo

a visit of discovery for gee-kiddies and us

it was on our list for months as a 'Sydney must-do'

We drove instead of taking a ferry or train

relieved of our money by the many tolls to our destination

found it changed a lot since our last visit

the temporary entrance caused a bit of consternation

The solitary Komodo Dragon obviously didn't like the cold

certainly the largest of its type I've ever seen

was Roie impressed? was Ty?  .... hard to say

Roie was making noises, taking in the scene

The giraffes were hard to miss, necks longer than legs

chimps lounged about except for one arial gymnast

the African waterhole with its pygmy hippo and birds

zebras and sntelope skittered by as we went past

Mountain goats abseiled from their eyrie insouciantly

(I think Ro liked their agility and daring) .....

Fennec foxes and meerkats standing up and looking around

spider monkeys and pandas, their coats red and glaring

The elephant house with its new unsteady arrival

was the most popular place at the zoo that day

walked past the well-dressed penguins and leopard seals

some of them knifing through the water in a high-speed play

Took in the seal show, the next most popular event

cared less about their performance, more about their sleek form

then on to the kids zoo where the domestic animals dwelled

soon after, our visit ended in a pelting rainstorm

I don't know about the others but I enjoyed the day-out

it is an excellent place to take the young to see ..

animals, birds, mammals, reptiles from all the worlds's continents

but mainly to teach them that other species like us should be free

 

OUR LOCALS ARE BEAUTIES

I'm referring to the natives, plants that have evolved over eons

thriving in conditions sandy, salty, windy almost cyclonic

crucial to protecting our dunes and coast from erosion

from sudden storms and deluges, awesome and demonic

Wallum, the coastal heathland plant native to this area

is considered just as important as a rainforest tropical

protecting everything beneath a impenetrable canopy

providing food and shelter for native bird or animal

More and more of this ancient wallum is disappearing

bushes, sedges, grasses, shrubs giving way to 'development'

leaving only small pockets of native bushland behind

to be over-run and destroyed by exotics beyond containment

I'll be rooting out the introduced weeds and pests that lurk

and plant more natives that belong to the region

adapted to the conditions that have prevailed ...

I hope they'll flourish and fruit or flower in profusion

Coastal banksia, pandanus, tuckeroo, myrtle and lasiandra

I'm even trying Fraser Island creeper where it's sunny

no camphor laurel, cocos palm, cassia, umbrella or lantana

even confined the mock orange in a pot, a safe bet for my money

I like where I'm living these days on the Sunshine Coast

the aspect is fine, the weather and the neighbours are kind

I could live for a while in the hinterland or on the range

but the coast and its natives are irresistible, just divine

IN PRAISE OF MICHAEL JACKSON

I won't be crying nor will I hold a vigil for the man

That's a modern phenomenon I just can't swallow

I'd rather concentrate on his talent and skill

It's his terrific music legacy I'd rather follow

A hellava dancer ... who could forget those moves?

'Thriller', the album had everybody gyrating

He was the maestro who married pop song to dance

To me 'Off The Wall' was electrifying

He had a voice that soared and was so pure

Even as a young tacker he was the centrepiece

Whether with the Jackson Five or McCartney

Magnetic, he did it all with grace and ease

Some people are born to entertain .. he was one

Us mortals are thrilled by the brilliance of him and  others

He lit up the world with his dance and music

And he's up there with the best of the brothers