It's Like a Beach Holiday

It’s like a beach holiday

 

  

It’s like a beach holiday
sitting out the back 
the Railway Club
a Saturday afternoon
blue sky the sun windless
spring’s around the corner
a couple old dears come out
spoil the pokies for a smoke
it’s like a beach holiday
we enjoy the warmth
they shake their heads
they look closely at me
they shake their heads again
but spring is almost here
the old ex-Footscray player
he looks at me and laughs
it’s like a beach holiday I say
he measures the distance and laughs again
I close my eyes and listen
off-duty cop on the phone
shouts at someone about his wife
she’s left me with the boys
my battery's almost dead
see you tomorrow

 

 

Rob Schackne

 

 

I was born in America and came to Australia in the early 70s. I've recently returned to Oz after many years of teaching in China. I now live in country Victoria where I enjoy the blue sky, sunshine, fresh air and the birds. My book "A Chance of Seasons" was published late in 2017 by Flying Island Press and launched this April at Kris Hemensley's Collected Works Bookshop in Melbourne, where I was joined by the poets Kristen de Kline, Pete Spence, Alan Jeffries and Patricia Sykes. My poems have been published in several magazines.