Gordon Nightingale
How many famous nurses?
You can count them on one hand.
There’s a few famous doctors;
But they’re a pretty exclusive band.
Famous aged care workers?
There is but one I know,
And famous check-out persons?
There’s not a one to show.
How about famous truckies?
They drive without recognition.
There are no famous trammies,
And no train drivers in addition.
Are there any famous plumbers?
Famous tradies in any field?
Or famous forest workers?
Heavy chainsaws they must wield.
Are taxi drivers famous?
Uber drivers as well?
If any of the above were famous
They’d have a tale to tell.
Oh! Yes, they have a story,
That few will ever hear,
Yet they keep this country running
And do it year on year.
Famous engineers?
Maybe, but count them – very few.
Or famous airline pilots?
Or famous hosties too?
Famous only when things go wrong
Like emergency workers do.
So why are sportsman famous?
And why sportswomen too?
What makes actors superior
When entertain is all they do?
TV stars and celebrities?
Fame way beyond what’s right,
And famous racing drivers;
Fans think they’re out of sight!
They do not help produce the food
That everybody needs.
They don’t put out the bush fires
Or plough or plant the seeds.
They don’t generate the power
Or fix the telephones.
They don’t work on the railways
Or fly surveying drones.
There’s several famous CEOs
And lots of famous pollies,
Filling their personal coffers
While treating us like wallies.
Why are the non-productive famous
While the productive stay unknown?
Human attitudes are arse-about
When it’s stripped down to the bone.
Gordon Nightingale is an author and poet. Although no longer a Daylesford local, he continues to make occasional contributions to the Wombat Post.
