Bleeding to death

Bleeding to death

An overwhelming human disaster
The invading force much stronger and faster
Defences smashed, supporters fled
Our soldiers all valiant but ultimately ?dead

I wriggle in pain in my second row seat
Fish and chip boxes besieging my feet
Wet eyes, dry throat, starting to choke
I call on spent muscles and suck up my coke

We offer up thanks as our warriors cross
Before us, heads bowed, stunned by the loss
While others seek solace by hitting the booze
We rush to the radio seeking the news

The broadcasts we hear are nothing but crap
Refugee ravings ?.bleeding heart pap
Then suicide bombings ?enough is enough
Then at last the truly earth shattering stuff?

Internationally now we know the score
Proteas batting, eighty for four
This shields our souls from more hurtful things
Like tonight's tragic loss by the Sydney Kings

I'm certainly not an insensitive guy
The Cid's final ride on the beach makes me cry
Mayo-naisse lifts his girl and tears flood my eyes
As they do at John Nash's Nobel Prize

SO lets put it all in the right perspective
There's too much sadness, so be selective
For you the terror of front page reports
For me ?the TV guide
?.and the sports

Written after Brisbane Bullets beat Sydney Kings Fri 8 March 2002
effectively ending their season, thus 'dead'. It reflects confusion:
the poet's apparent inability to remain unmoved by 'real inhumanities'
(war, deaths in Israel, the plight of illegal refugees), yet sob at
movies, and be devastated/jubilant at sports scores.