Whiskery chin and whiskery chops <br />Snoozing in the broad tree tops <br />Dreamy eyes and whiskery ears <br />They sleep away the furry years. <br /> <br />A nose that’s hard to see around <br />And legs that bandy on the ground. <br />Perplexed and up a gum tree, <br />You can often just their bum see. <br /> <br />Now Uncle Wattleberry’s a fine example <br />Whose sideburns sprouted more than ample. <br />So much his house among the trees <br />Even whiskered in the breeze. <br /> <br />His nephew Bunyip though was not impressed <br />And thought his uncle over-dressed - <br />And with their space by hairiness pervaded <br />Young Bluegum shaved and fur-pomaded. <br /> <br />He took to dining on the trunk below <br />But listless gummed his soup with woe <br />As lizards borrowed or much worse stole <br />His cough-drop pottage from the bowl. <br /> <br />Said Bunyip: <br /> <br />“Whiskers alone are bad enough <br />Attached to faces coarse and rough <br />But how much greater their offence is <br />When stuck on Uncles’ countenances.” <br /> <br />His uncle thus replied: <br /> <br />“Shaving may add an air that’s somewhat brisker <br />For dignity, commend me to the whisker <br />As noble thoughts the inward being grace <br />So noble whiskers dignify the face.” <br /> <br />Now this lingo sparked a blue and Bunyip lost his rag <br />So much, he did a bunk and upped and humped his swag. <br />And if you want to know the outcome of his walkabout intentions <br />Consult ‘The Magic Pudding’ [Albert], on his stew and jam indentions. <br /> <br /> <br />Quotations from: 'The Magic Pudding - the Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum' by Norman Lindsay (1918)<br /><br />Keith Johnson<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/bunyip-s-blues-the-koala/
