ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

OK, let's kick it off with something nautical prompted by recent fishy posts.

Fishin’!

If you like to go out fishin’
you should get some recognition
as a masochist, a connoisseur of pain.
In a break from my employment
I once tried it for enjoyment,
but I swore I’d never tackle it again!

First the line became all tangled,
then my thumb got badly mangled
by the hook, a nasty, sinister device
that was fashioned by the Devil
(sorry, Wazza, I’m with Neville!),
and the agony it caused was far from nice.

As I leapt about and ranted
I was suddenly decanted
from the boat just like a bottle pops its cork.
To the laughter of the women
I was forced to do some swimmin’,
and they reckoned that I looked a total dork.

I was shivering and freezing,
and the pain was hardly easing,
when they hauled my sodden body back on board,
and, in case you might have wondered,
yes, I promptly up and chundered
in the esky where our dinner had been stored.

So don’t talk to me of fishin’,
for it’s been my life’s ambition
to get nautical pursuits completely banned.
Give me cricket, footy, tennis,
for the sea is just a menace,
and I like my sporting pleasures on dry land!

© David 13/01/15

Now that's my idea of entertainment. I wish I'd been there to see it! Love it David.

Heather

That's great David. Decanted from the boat ... I went over the side once. I was so fast getting back in that no one had noticed me leave.

"Three fourths of the earth's surface is water. One fourth land. It is quite clear that the good Lord intended us to spend triple the amount of time fishing, as taking care of the lawn."
Anon.

Yes Neville rhymes with devil, we all know that one.

Do you realise it is 40 years since Jaws was released ? about the time I stopped surfing .

Bob

David, Just the right metre for that tale. What do you call it, a sort of burlesque on those blokes from TackleWorld who take it all so seriously.
Pam Ayres uses that metre for her lampoon style. I think it works well for jokey bush poetry yarn type verse. e.g. The Spider by the Gwydir

I wish I could manage it as good as this one of yours.

You missed a great opportunity David - Burley is great for sucking the fish in And I like your poem - best stick to poi'ing you sound like a bit of a Jonah let loose in a boat

Thanks everyone, glad you enjoyed it. Although it's not very shantyish, so I'll have a go at something a little more traditional.

Cheers
David

Thanks for yet another smile David - sounds like some of my past attempts at fishing, although I haven't yet fallen in!

Dear me! What happened to "a good day's fishin' beats a bad day's work anytime"????

Thanks for the giggle, David!

Cheers, Shelley