Henry Lawson remains relevant

On reading again the poems of Henry Lawson for a reference, I was struck by the relevance today of his poem "Second Class Wait Here".

The Federal Government has reviewed the provisions of Medicare and has rejected the idea of universal applications for health for all Australians and has accepted the proposition of a two-tiered structure, which I see as applying separate conditions for the higher income streams and lower income earners.

To illustrate my point, here are the first and last verse of the poem.

At suburban railway stations - you may see them as you pass -

There are sign boards on the platform saying "Wait here second class";

And to me the whirr and thunder and the click of running gear

Seem to be ever saying "Second class wait here'"'

There's a train with Death for driver, that is ever going past;

There will be no class compartments when it's "all aboard" at last

For the long white jasper platform with an Eden in the rear;

And there won't be any signboards, saying "Second class wait here".

There is also a relevance in his poem "One-Hundred- and-Three" about the treatment of prisoners in the 18th century to how suspected terrorist prisoners are treated at Guantanamo Bay today.

We would wish for another such modern poet.

Enid Harrison, WoyWoy