Keith Johnson - Bunyip's Blues - The Koala

Whiskery chin and whiskery chops
Snoozing in the broad tree tops
Dreamy eyes and whiskery ears
They sleep away the furry years.

A nose that’s hard to see around
And legs that bandy on the ground.
Perplexed and up a gum tree,
You can often just their bum see.

Now Uncle Wattleberry’s a fine example
Whose sideburns sprouted more than ample.
So much his house among the trees
Even whiskered in the breeze.

His nephew Bunyip though was not impressed
And thought his uncle over-dressed -
And with their space by hairiness pervaded
Young Bluegum shaved and fur-pomaded.

He took to dining on the trunk below
But listless gummed his soup with woe
As lizards borrowed or much worse stole
His cough-drop pottage from the bowl.

Said Bunyip:

“Whiskers alone are bad enough
Attached to faces coarse and rough
But how much greater their offence is
When stuck on Uncles’ countenances.”

His uncle thus replied:

“Shaving may add an air that’s somewhat brisker
For dignity, commend me to the whisker
As noble thoughts the inward being grace
So noble whiskers dignify the face.”

Now this lingo sparked a blue and Bunyip lost his rag
So much, he did a bunk and upped and humped his swag.
And if you want to know the outcome of his walkabout intentions
Consult ‘The Magic Pudding’ [Albert], on his stew and jam indentions.


Quotations from: 'The Magic Pudding - the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum' by Norman Lindsay (1918)

Keith Johnson

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