I was at the Sunshine Coast recently & dined out. Pleasant company & good food — the words for this poem came to me.
Corn Beef, Spuds & Onions
I’ve had some fancy feeds
In posh & propped restaurants
Where they serve up scones & jam
With an elegant high tea
Breakfast on smoked salmon with a buttered croissant
Gorged at a seafood smorgasbord
Of bugs, crab meat & prawns
Even finished off with a creamy caramel torte
Washed down with a smooth tawny port:
But, in spite of such fancy fare
The feed that gives me the most delight
I’ll mention here,
If I dare
One I’ll hook into, morning, noon & night
Corn meat, spuds & onions
With a splendid parsley white sauce
Cooked just right in a blackened camp oven, of course!
All day on a simmering slow boil
T’is the perfect meal for a son of the soil
On a bed of glowing Gigdee coals
The sweet aroma of onions & cloves
On a gentle breeze, leisurely rolls
In posh & propped restaurants
Where they serve up scones & jam
With an elegant high tea
Breakfast on smoked salmon with a buttered croissant
Gorged at a seafood smorgasbord
Of bugs, crab meat & prawns
Even finished off with a creamy caramel torte
Washed down with a smooth tawny port:
But, in spite of such fancy fare
The feed that gives me the most delight
I’ll mention here,
If I dare
One I’ll hook into, morning, noon & night
Corn meat, spuds & onions
With a splendid parsley white sauce
Cooked just right in a blackened camp oven, of course!
All day on a simmering slow boil
T’is the perfect meal for a son of the soil
On a bed of glowing Gigdee coals
The sweet aroma of onions & cloves
On a gentle breeze, leisurely rolls
Golden top damper
The Babbler kneaded by hand
Give it a tap
To hear that perfect cooked, hollow sound:
The ringers que up for tucker so grand
With a generous nip of Bundy OP rum
The perfect end to a muster well done
Tucker fit for Kings before a new days begun:
So, old mate, to rave over rib bones or steak
Is a bloody big mistake
I’d rather dine on corn meat, spuds and onions
Piled high on me old chipped enamel plate!
When I go & meet me maker
Somewhere up there at the Pearly Gate
I’ll truly know I’m in heaven
When the dinner bell rings out ‘bout 7.00
With those stock mates of mine
We’ll sit down to dine
On a meal so sublime
Corn meat, Spuds & Onions!
The Babbler kneaded by hand
Give it a tap
To hear that perfect cooked, hollow sound:
The ringers que up for tucker so grand
With a generous nip of Bundy OP rum
The perfect end to a muster well done
Tucker fit for Kings before a new days begun:
So, old mate, to rave over rib bones or steak
Is a bloody big mistake
I’d rather dine on corn meat, spuds and onions
Piled high on me old chipped enamel plate!
When I go & meet me maker
Somewhere up there at the Pearly Gate
I’ll truly know I’m in heaven
When the dinner bell rings out ‘bout 7.00
With those stock mates of mine
We’ll sit down to dine
On a meal so sublime
Corn meat, Spuds & Onions!
Copyright 2022 – Scott Lusby