my country

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So where are we at now?
Still without an idea,
Still with no clue,
At 25 you may expect something
Something that you know
Or something you can do
Something your good at
Or a skill you’ve learnt
And a few I’ve done
And I’m happy with those,
But the more I learn
The more I find out what im missing
And I don’t think I care
I think im supposed to and its expected,
I think its me fighting everybody sometimes,
Well not everyone,
But the pressure is there,
To not do what I am really after,
And have wanted to for a very long time
I want to live,
That is a given
But I want to live
Where I am happy,
Where I have my world,
This may involve a family,
This definitely involves living in Australia,
But not in the city
Not in any city,
Just recently I am calling people from all over Australia,
And mostly in regional areas
And I keep thinking,
Why them,
And why not me
They are so happy,
You can hear it in their tone,
They know what happiness is,
Because they have got it,
You can see it in the lines of their faces
You can see it in the way they walk
And the way they drive,
The friends they have
And the lives they lead,
Yes some can be tough,
And some can be hard,
But they wouldn’t have it any other way,
So why should I be living like this?
Why do I have to fight everyones idea of what I should do,
Why cant they shut up sometimes,
And hear what Im trying to say.
I don’t want to be in Europe because the place,
Well the place just doesn’t make me happy,
Being here in Sydney, does not make me happy,
Seeing my family and friends here, that does,
And of course the work that we all need to pay the bills is here.
But I want the slower pace of life,
I’m sick of the pressure, and I have almost none,
And I have made it that way,
My life has the least amount of pressure on me,
But some I just ignore,
Some I don’t care,
But it tally’s up,
Let me tell you in the limited way that I can,
These words you now read,
Or hear,
Of how I would like to live,
And then, I want you to realize why it cant happen,
At least for now,
I got a hint,
And maybe I’ll remember to tell you,
This country is the most beautiful place you will ever experience.
I don’t know many other places,
But I do know here,
And how it strikes you not only in the eye,
Not only in the heart,
Not only in the sole,
Not only in your mind,
But in all of the above,
And in the lifestyle,
The touch,
Taste
Smell
And inner feel you get.
This is just for me remember,
Yo may have other ideas,
But this is what it is for me,
The love that I know,
And will know
Is the love of this land
This land I touch with me hand
The land I will show to my sons and sons,
And my sons will love, and so will there mums
For each place has its smell,
And my heart to it has fell,
And im doing a bad job,
Of telling you how I feel,
So I shall start again
Gum trees have a way of talking to you,
As I drive through the forests,
They are reaching out,
And showing you what they can do,
They have a smell, that is so fresh and beautiful.
And some have a colour,
That in the blue mountains,
Well, that’s why they’re called blue,
The mornings are the best in Australia,
As well as the sunsets,
As well as the middays,
And the evenings,
The nights are so crisp and beautiful,
You’ll never want to leave,
Head bush, do it for yourself,
Listen to me,
And listen well,
If you don’t see this country in its way
In all of its purity
Well, your missing out on something very important,
And does not sound so important here,
But your missing out, on affection and love,
That always gives it back
This country of ours loves us,
And it shows us everyday something interesting and new that it can do,
Of the life it can prvide for,
Of the beauty in the eye and the mind that it can evoke,
And I have seen so little of it,
Maybe 10% of this land,
And I get stuck in a small area with so many people
So interested in the career I want,
I’m fighting out now,
I want to tell anyone who says to me,
Stay and earn some good money and relax,
That smply doesn’t happen,
Earning money does not relate to relaxing,
They are 2 entities at completely different ends of the spectrum,
No one will understand what I get out of my country,
It is not a patronage thing,
It is not because I am AUSTRALIAN, that I love this place,
I love this for the land,
And the people,
And I believe, and don’t get me started on beliefs, but
Believe me,
I think it is the land that we live on,
That has created the “Australian”
I don’t believe it was anything else,
That has created us,
And that is pretty special,
How a land can shape a people,
And shape a people like us,
Wwe have our severe bad sides,
But I … I guess I hope,
That our good traits outrun our bad,
And I think we do that,
So there are 2 things I love in this world,
I could dramatize it and so the things I love most,
But no,
Very simply,
I love the land that I live on,
And I love the people that live on it with me,
Those loves will never leave me,
So long as I never leave this land,
The land will never leave me,

Ben Michaels

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