At the Red Cross, we get lots of mail.

Mostly it’s our own reply paid envelopes with cheques in them, sent in response to a quarterly mailout. In a time of crisis (like now: redcross.org.au) it’s all kinds of envelopes from all kinds of people with lots of different stamps for me to harvest and decorate my cubicle with. Sometimes, amidst the cheques and postal orders, we might also get a letter or card from an old digger or Red Cross lady with a “The War” story, or perhaps a tale of how the good ol’ Red Cross came through for them when they were in a POW camp. We also get people complaining about how much mail we send them because it must cost us so much money to send all those letters (the complainants usually use our own reply paid envelopes – or call our 1800 number – to do so, which, um, costs us money). Occasionally we even get white-hot rage and four-lettered, multi-coloured profanity in response to such a mailout (that’s for another adults-only post).

Even less frequently, we get poetry. The following – well, I guess you could call it a poem as I’m not sure what else it should be called – came in a card attached to a donation for the current Bushfire Appeal, author unknown (and perhaps unknowable). I have reproduced it as faithfully as I can, including all seemingly random capitalisation and odd punctuation. Enjoy.

_____________________________

“To All Those Who Have SURVIVED”

Country Towns
_____________________________
Country Towns, With Your Willows & SQUARES.
And FARMERS bouncing on Barrel MARES.
To Public-housing of Yellow Wood –
With “1860” over their doors!
And MYSTERIOUS RACE OF HOGANS
Which Always Keeps
All GENERAL STORES GOING!

At the School of Arts a
BROADSHEET OF LIES!
SPRAYED WITH The Sarcasm of FLIES!
THE GREAT GOLIGHTLY FAMILY

To All The Lost, Found –
A Few still MISSING! LOVE.

Verandas Barked with Musty Sleep.
Mulberry faces DOZEN DEEP!
The sunlight UP like Paste of Gold.

Country Towns with your Schooner Beers &
locusts burnt IN THE PEPPER TREES –
Drown me with SYRUPS –
ARCH YOUR BOUGHS!
Find me a Bench & lets Talk – till change – hope
and like U all have shown COURAGE – LOVE &
ONE DAY FULL PEACE!

AS WE ALL KNOW YOU All HAVE STRONG MINDS &
LOVEABLE HEARTS

I PRAY FOR ALL OF YOU!

_____________________________

I read this with equal parts bemusement and confusement. Which soon turned to amusement. I’m sure the author means well (they did send money after all) but there are certain parts of this verse which simply don’t make any sense or seem to have any context. Despite that, I really enjoyed it!