Young Lovers in Van Damien&;#8217;s Land

Staccato rain on tarpaulin
spitting the half covered dead
as this windless night
slips towards dawn

for they were lovers
in Van Damien's land
where hate boils
to a blister

the aborigine lad
and the farm boy
culled in a clinch
for progress

the tabloid outrage
will be fleeting
parliament will swoon
to laptop hacks

but come polling day
nothing will change
the shame of truth sticks
like god save the queen

reconciliation is always
a race away
states Kathy Freeman
on the late night news

gold medals
mean nothing
just great television
for the global millions

out here