Reviews from

'Cause That's What We Aussies Do

(This one told by a Koala)

16 total reviews 
Comment from Sankey
Excellent
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Sorry I did not know you in time to get the bigger reward but no worries as I am loaded just now. Thanks for a great poem and obviously you were hurt by the fires. My guess is we might be on the same page about the Climate Change farce! God Bless you, friend, as you get sorted out in coming days. Nice to meet you consider yourself fanned and another reason I am staying.

 Comment Written 18-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 18-Jan-2020
    Sankey, didn't you at one stage write under another name. I used to live in Campbelltown but five years ago moved to Junee.
reply by Sankey on 18-Jan-2020
    Bob I was operating 2 accounts the other was my wife's account Tootsie55 but for some time up till Mid November I was working both accounts. I put the Tootsie55 account up for a year as a lot of my readers of my own autobiography "The Little Dog That Wouldn't Let Go" were disappointed I never saiod more about our trips around Australia. I was respecting my wife's writing about our trips in her "Our Trips" book and not "stealing her thunder." Maybe that is the name you are thinking of. That is a long story I could share privately as well re the two paid accounts running together.
Comment from Benny Beeharry
Excellent
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It is sad indeed and worse of all to be surrounded by a fire we cannot do anything to stop but die in. Here we cannot pass judgement. Still I hate to think that some could even go on holiday while fire rages.
It is very good you bring this out for everyone to see. I send my encouragements and blessings

Benny Beeharry

 Comment Written 11-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 11-Jan-2020
    Thank you Benny. Your comment is appreciated.
Comment from lyenochka
Excellent
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Oh, you're an Aussie - we have so many wonderful Aussie writers here!
Enjoyed your intelligent and creative poem written from the koala's perspective. Knowing that it's the koala speaking, one cannot think of any political influence for his saying that controlled burning would have avoided this crisis. Hope that the Green Party would recognize their error. We had the same issues in the U.S. and learned that naturally caused fires are important to the health of the land.

 Comment Written 11-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 11-Jan-2020
    Our aboriginal people have successfully practiced regeneration for hundreds of years. It does work. Thank you lyenochka for a very nice review
Comment from Jannypan (Jan)
Excellent
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It breaks my heart to hear/see the destruction done by the fires to animals/people/properties. Bob. Your poem tells it like it is--from one who is there and has been for centuries. Your lines flow well with great imagery. I love the POV of the koala. Thanks for sharing. I believe you are right about the spirit of the Aussies. They will overcome and be stronger. Respectfully, Jan

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    We have to go on and smiling is so much easier than frowning. Conversely, being grumpy improves nothing. Thank you so much for the review and may 2020 bring you everything you need, and some of the things you want.
Comment from LaRosa
Excellent
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The red screen adds to the reader's subconscious feeling of the Koala's fire, every where, every where...a good choice.
You make an important point, that intentional burns are necessary to keep control of too much under-brush. I understand that, however, in our State there was a bad fire actually caused by a control-burn! But that was unusual.

I enjoyed the 'speaker' being the quintessential Aussie, the Koala. May they come back soon.

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Thank you LaRosa. That's a great name. Is it spanish for the rose. I think seeing the images of koala's being given water by people will be my permanent memory from these fires. I just talked again to my Koala reporter and he said he loves being called quintessential as long as he doesn't have to spell it.
reply by LaRosa on 10-Jan-2020
    You got it! It is only a pen name. I chose it because I love roses.
    PS:
    Tell him I couldn't think of a better word for Australia's best known citizen!
reply by LaRosa on 10-Jan-2020
    hmmm, did I send you a msg already? If not, here it is:
    Yes, you are right, LaRosa is The Rose, chosen pen name because I love roses.
    Also: please tell your reporter that 'that long name' was all I could think of for the most recognized, the most popular, Australian citizen! Cheers.
reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Thank you twice. Hope 2020 is kind to you
Comment from Adelphos Vasa
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Hello Bob, Junee!! I know that area very well. I lived in Wagga for a number of years and I was born on a property outside of Deniliquin. Merino sheep was our main farming, but we did grow a lot of crops to feed the stock. We still own the station, but we always had a manager because my father was a Collins street farmer and worked with my brothers in Melbourne. Retail was his love, but we always went back to the station, especially on ANZAC day.

I loved your poem, it's great. And as Aussies we bounce back, because we have these every year. At least with this years blazes we have lost less life than in 1938, Black Friday fires when 72 people died.

I think your poem tells a great story. The story of what it means to be Australian. I'm giving it five stars for it's realism, and because it is free of hype, and it just tells it as it is. And that extra star is for telling your poem from the point of view of the Koala. It is very sad. The strange thing is, where I live, the temperatures have been rather low, a mild summer here in Queensland, so far. And let's hope it stays that way.

We have been hit by fire since forever, and as you know, before the white man came along to fight these fires, the Indigenous people roamed from one place to another and practiced back-burning. And a lot of our trees need fire to open the seed pods.

Records have been taken for such a short time one can't make bold statements, but I have the feeling that before our arrival, the fires would have burnt until they hit a river, lake, or the sea.

Great job with this and nice to see you at FS today, cheers, Joy.

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Thank you so much for your reply. We are relative newcomers to Junee. We moved down here after retiring. The country people are so different, they're really genuine. What do you do in Queensland?
Comment from JudyE
Excellent
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We in the west have felt for our Eastern cousins during this terrible period and, of course, it's not over yet. We keep hoping we won't have such a catastrophic fire here.

Stay safe.

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Fortunately we're well clear of the fires, we have however been affected by dense smoke over the past couple of weeks with visibility down to a hundred yards or so. Today is much clearer. Thank you for taking the time to review and more importantly for caring for your eastern buddies
Comment from royowen
Excellent
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Well done Bob, as our resident back burning, Koala and wild life representative and advocate, thank you. I heard them talking on the radio yesterday about the ancient aboriginal and their fire control methods. Why is it that all indigenous cultures are wiser than we westerners Bob? Well done my friend, a great write brimming with style and panache. Well done, blessings, Roy

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Roy, just checked up on the word panache. Hope you intended it as one word because I was left wondering what pan ache ment. Sounded like a stomach disorder.
    Back to the review. I must agree with your statement about the aboriginal practical of caring for the land. They truly cared for the land and they ensured they preserved. Today's farmers are motivated differently, they appear to just care about maximising profit. Just my opinion.
reply by royowen on 10-Jan-2020
    I means a confident artisan
reply by royowen on 10-Jan-2020
    Heh Heh
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
Excellent
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This made me smile Bob and I loved your inventive write here written by the koala and how the animals have suffered in this terrible tragedy, much enjoyed, love Dolly x

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Thank you Dolly for your review. Its always nice to receive comments from high-ranked poets and you really deserve your spot at the top of the tree.
Comment from Cybertron1986
Excellent
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Quite an inspiring piece for the recent fires that occurred down under. It's refreshing and motivational to come across something very positive despite the unimaginable circumstances that happened. Thank you for bringing this reader's spirit up.

 Comment Written 10-Jan-2020


reply by the author on 10-Jan-2020
    Sadly, the fires are still burning fiercely. To date several million hectares, the size of some European countries have been lost and there is that much more again under threat. Thank you for your flattering comments