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Over the rainbow

Michelle Dowse A bit funny 10 September 2026 0 minutes read
  • What's new

Somewhere beyond here, strumming guitar
Eva Cassidy, now live and well
Sings 'Over the Rainbow' to a crowded bar
On a Friday night, in a corner of Hell.

There, in a bunch, are other dead stars:
Janis and Jimi are sharing a beer,
Wondering why, out of all of the bars,
In the whole damn joint they ended up here.

Bessie Smith and Sam Cooke join in a duet:
A song about coloured folks down by the river,
And Hank Williams sings a song of regret,
While there in a corner is Dave Crosby's liver.

Eva comes back and does 'Fields of Gold';
The room stays quiet and a little depressed,
Till Cobain yells out: 'Cats, this beats growing old,
Or judging a TV talent quest'.

Then poor Dennis Wilson, cured of his stammer,
knocking the top off another cold can,
calls 'Eva, do you do Sweet Home Alabama?'
while Lennon cries out, 'no, we want Khe Sanh'.

But Eva upstages them all with 'The Letter,'
And everyone joins in as rock'n'roll friends:
Though an all-star finale has never been better,
the bar never closes, the song never ends.

Mission Statement

Michelle Dowse A bit funny 10 September 2026 0 minutes read

God loves the modern user-friendly man:
rewards that man in this life and the next.
He wants us each to have a business plan,
and then to read a self- improvement text.

Rewards await all those who face their fears -
Movie vouchers, chocolate bars, some wine:
Then find out how you rate against your peers,
(Once you've filled this survey in on-line),

And thus proactively incentivised
we shall graze on pastures of the Lord,
til as lambs in abattoirs, we're optimised
to world's best practice, quality assured.

So let me frame my mission statement here:
to watch more TV. And to drink more beer.

Ode to Redcliffe

Michelle Dowse A bit funny 10 September 2026 0 minutes read

Hail to thee O Redcliffe, 
Fair city by the sea.
The bridge used to have a toll -
but now you can leave for free.

Its RSL is busy,
Its shopping centres thrive,
Its football team won the premiership,
In 1965.

We've cleaned up all the mangroves,
Our sand is fair and white,
And the Moreton Bay has a cabaret,
Every Friday night.

The ladies sell their handcrafts,
Each week on Redcliffe Mall,
And each hotel warns its clientele,
"Shirts must be worn by all".

We've got pokies at the leagues club,
and every kind of store,
loads of beaches and other features,
and garage sales galore.

From the muddy shores of Clontarf,
To the shops at Kippa Ring,
Hail to thee O Redcliffe,
Tis of thee I sing.

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Between the lines with Mark Between the lines with Mark
  • What’s new
  • Poems
  • Life lessons
  • A bit funny
  • Flash fiction
  • My other site
  • Contact
  • About me