borne witness to the names

of the 60,000 Republic dead
stickyfooted at the monolith

equal parts David, Goliath
before windsurfing

down the runway of democracy
the Capitol (mistaken for the White House)

triumphantly crowning the National Mall
compare our bush tucker capital:

Parly’s idle spire
a eucalyptus bouquet calloused

like shearers’ hands 
grass confettied with gum leaves

reprobate lawns 
a malignant erasure

cloistered in the boughs
the banks of Burley Griffin

dandruffed with sleet
O’Hara’s Hamlet writing

to the Harbourmaster
his arrivals always trip wired

with plans for departure