Election Day

Election day
again.

Queensland stumbles,
a fool’s democracy—
too damn hard,
too goddamn unrewarding
for anyone with fire
to rise up,
to make this place better.

Politics here
ain’t fierce,
ain’t fierce enough—
democracy should be
a cage fight,
sharp teeth and grit.
Ideas should dance
or die,
succeed or burn out.

It should pull you in,
make you want it.
Kids should have
politicians on posters,
right there next to
rock stars and footballers.
The whole deal
should throb
with passion,
represent every face,
every street,
every corner.

But no—
what’ve we got?
A tired, grey lineup:
the empathy-dead party,
the union cronies,
the eco-huggers bent
on rubbing trees
back to the stone age,
and the lone nutter
with a joint in one hand
and a rifle in the other—
because why the hell not?

I'm saying—
enough of this.
Let’s aim for
a hundred parties,
not two-and-a-half.
Let’s make this cutthroat,
make leadership glamorous.
Show the world
how to lead,
by sheer will.
It’s already broken,

all it takes
is guts,
is fire,
is balls.
So do it.