12-Hour Carol Contest, The Koala Machine, Felicity Teague

Felicity Teague features regularly in The HyperTexts, Snakeskin, and elsewhere. Her second collection, Interruptus: A Poetry Year, is forthcoming in 2025.

The Koala Machine

 Click the red switch and it all starts to whirr,

duh-duh-duh duhhh on repeat;

plastic forms whizz by in grey–white–brown blur,

spurs on their hands and their feet…

 

We are the koalas who climb and then slide,

Dusty and Snowy and Alf,

scaling the tree for our yellow ramp ride,

routine is good for our health…

 

All through the season, we sit and we stare,

under a strange Christmas spell,

watching the koalas speed down with such flair,

after ascending so well…

 

We are the koalas who climb and then slide,

Dusty and Snowy and Alf,

scaling the tree for our yellow ramp ride,

routine is good for our health…

 

Poor Alfie’s arm breaks; the batteries die –

off to ACE Hardwares we go.

Superglue gets us a little bit high!

K-dudes resume their slick show…

 

We are the koalas who climb and then slide,

Dusty and Snowy and Alf,

scaling the tree for our yellow ramp ride,

routine is good for our health…

 

So they continue, till Springtime takes hold;

Dad puts the koalas away,

boxed in a cupboard, in plasticky fold –

I can still hear them today…

 

We are the koalas who climb and then slide,

Dusty and Snowy and Alf,

scaling the tree for our yellow ramp ride,

routine is good for our health…

Comments

  1. F.F. TeagueOctober 1, 2024 at 1:53 AM

    Many thanks for publishing this poem, Alex. And thanks also for running another contest. The K-dudes embrace you! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex RettieOctober 1, 2024 at 7:30 AM

    😃 You're most welcome, Fliss

    ReplyDelete

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