ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Asymmetry

© Stephen Whiteside 09.10.2011

I do not like asymmetry.
It's not the thing for you or me.
A hooded eye. A withered arm.
It always seems to point to harm.

A crooked spine. A crippled leg,
That's what makes a beggar beg.
As for shaving half a head,
I think you'd need the whole head read!

There's one exception, let me say.
On clothing, it is quite OK.
One sleeve orange, one sleeve green
Is quite the coolest thing I've seen.

How Gothic...

... One sleeve orange, one sleeve green ...

Are you half Irish and half Irish, Stephen?

I actually had in mind a particularly cool shirt I saw being worn by Texan alt country singer Townes van Zandt, Kym.

However...some years ago I unearthed something of a family secret, to the effect that my great grandfather, George Whiteside, came to Australia from the Sligo Workhouse as an eight year old orphan following the deaths of his parents. He was sponsored by an older cousin in Parramatta.

I managed to track his name down on the passenger list of the ship John Bunyan. He was accompanied on the voyage by two teenage sisters. All the passengers had 'RC' listed as their religion, including the three little Whitesides. However, in their case (only) 'C of E' had then been re-written over the top...

so you may be onto something!

I was just reminded of a song I heard as a child "me mother she wore orange, and me father he wore green" (or perhaps it was the other way around???).

That's a very sad story about your great-grandad being an orphan and travelling to the other side of the world ... gosh they had it hard back then.

This is what you are thinking of Kym.

Tis the biggest mix up that you have ever seen.

Me father he was orange and me mother she was green.

Great song.


Bob

Wasn't it about catholics and protestants and he didn't know which one he should be cos his parents were opposites? Something about religion ...

Yep that's it.

The orange men were protestants and catholics were green.

Bob