Early Morning Cold Pokies

Mount Gambier

Three fruits for breakfast this morning.
Or maybe just two;
come up a bit short again, see.

Free coffee but,
and plenty of it.
Keeps ya goin’ see, gotta long day ahead.

They look after you here, mate,
like family.
More family than I ever see anyways.

Walkin’ there today,
bit short for fuel again.
Builds up the appetite but, all this fresh air.

Feet getting bit wet I know,
but new shoes to come, when I win.
That’s a guarantee.

The old dears take taxis home of a night.
Protect their winnings they say.
Chance would be a fine thing.

Winning.

Bit hungry this morning,
electricity overdue,
so it’s eat or stay warm, hey.

So need a win today, mate, a big win.
Breakfast and a big win.
Not just the taste of two fruits.

The bitter fruits of breakfast.

Lee Coulson, originally from Adelaide, lives in Mount Gambier, where he is the librarian at the Mount Gambier TAFE campus. Lee describes himself as not a professional or published writer, just one who enjoys writing, producing poetry and prose, particularly in response to local issues and events. He recently wrote in response to a local Mount Gambier news article about the “massive amounts of money spent on gaming machines in the SA south-east area”. He studied the Advanced Diploma of Professional Writing at Adelaide TAFE. This is his first published work.

Readers’ original and unpublished poems of up to 40 lines can be emailed, with postal address, to [email protected]. A poetry book will be awarded to each contributor.