ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Garage Sale

I'd been collecting junk for years now
Stored it all up in me shed
Mower,snippers, fridges, bikes
I've even got a queen sized bed.

So I reckoned just to clear it out
Cause I'm a true blue Aussie male
I'd stick an advert in the paper
And have a bloody garage sale.

I planned the thing for weeks and weeks
Spoke to mates who orta know
The only thing that could have stopped me
Was rain or driving snow.

On Friday night I dragged it out
BBQs and bikes and chairs
I laid it all out nicely
In the garage near the stairs

Then early Saturday morning
I rose to set up all the boards
Put me signs out in the gutter
And then waited for the hoards.

By six o'clock no one had come
Dew settled on the lawn
Daylight filtered through the trees
I sat there most forlorn.

I held it on Australia day
Folk should be everywhere
All these bargains would be wasted
Does no one out there care.

Then in a rush they hit me
buyers came out of thin air
I sold all those bloody books mate
Even sold the Squatters chair.

I thought I was doing really well
I was near run off me feet
I could feel the money in me bank
Cold hard cash, what a treat.

But when I got the time to look
I nearly had a fit
The things I'd had the sale to clear
Just seemed to bloody sit

The worn out fridge, that folding lounge
Still sat there most forlorn
While all the little fiddly things
Were just about all gone.

Well what a flaming let down
My flash of joy was quickly sunk
The day was almost over
And I still had heaps of junk.

I'd cut the prices near in half
And gave some things away
But my shed was nearly still half full
Yeah things were looking grey.

So I packed it up and dropped it off
At the local Vinnies store
I hope they made good use of it
To help out with the poor.

My shed is now near empty
It's tidy, neat and trim
all my tools are laid out on the board
and in the corner there's a gym.

I've made this new years resolution
and this is the good mail
cause I'll tell ya mate I'll never hold
another bloody garage sale.

Bob Pacey (C)

Since this is a workshop Bob, I venture this comment. Writing poetic metre is different from song lyrics. In song lyrics the word pronunciations are sometimes compressed or stretched, sometimes the accents changed to fit the music accompaniment.

In poetry there is no music background, the words are expected to be pronounced in the normal rhythm and emphasis as prose speech. The rhythm of the poetry lines comes from the words not from some separate background beat.

One poet I heard of, used to walk around the room stamping his feet to see if the words fitted the rhythm, if the words didn't fit the rhythm he would change the wording, not change the pronunciation of the words to fit into the foot beat.

I can't think of a better way to explain it.

p.s. I know that poems are sometimes used as song lyrics, that's a different story.

Only ever been involved in Two garage sales Bob, and that was definately enough!
Little story of a friend who helped her sister out with a garage sale at Penrith a couple of years ago there was a little saucer that they had a tag on for 10 cents and some old duck came along and asked if they'd accept 5 cents!
I think she told her if she was that xxxxxy desperate she could have the xxxxy thing!! (friend didn't swear!)

Ron

There's a lot to be said for charity and hard rubbish collection!

Good one Bobotibytoboo!

Good one Bob - reusing and revamping what you have is good - Garage sales should be avoided at all costs but eventually there is nothing else for it. Either garage sale or the tip I am having a giggle at some of the things I see here on our garage sale. 30 items of clothing and they want $5 for it - apart from it being ridiculously cheap at that price wouldn't you just give it to the charity shop and be done with it?

I liked your poem so much I'm sharing it to our FB page

Thanks Mausie I thought you had gone walkabout for a while