May 2, 2010 | Ian Bland | Leave a comment Photo By Jools Thatcher The theme for this week’s JVG Radio Method poem is “For Hire” Ed Bates on the guitar this week Play this poem directly in your browser! Just click the “play” button below: [audio:JVG_Poem20100502.mp3] For Hire Natalie, I met in South Melbourne At the firm, where we both used to work I earned my crust changing light globes She, in accounts, as a clerk We became good mates – good mates, nothing more In the manner of sister and brother She entrusted me with her secrets Things she could share with no other By night she abandoned the ledger Unbeknown to her family and friends Worked as a high class escort By appointment and only top end She was frank when discussing her motives Money – and what she could earn She made three times as much in one evening As she did, in a week, at the firm She was clear in her objectives And that you had to admire To make enough money to pay off her flat Then, no question, retire When her secret was finally uncovered It unleashed unimaginable hurt Disowned by her family, a leper, disgraced Viewed and treated as dirt Whereas Ken, whom I sat with at state school There was never the slightest pretence Beauty he measured in material worth Love, in dollars and cents He saw himself as a wheeler and dealer Left school with high expectations Sadly, his pitifully meagre talents Failed to match his grandiose aspirations And then he met Cassie, light of his life Her assets more than substantial He coldly described her as “No oil painting” The attraction, purely financial They married, two kids, two houses, a yacht Betrayal at the very least Natalie, banished, condemned as a whore While Ken was blessed by a priest The method may differ but they walked the same road One lauded, the other detested Their choices no different – bodies for hire Although Ken would term it invested One way or another, we all hock our arses At the office, down the aisle or the streets Politicians for votes, except in the west Where they’re too busy sniffing the seats Footballers, actors, celebrities, journalists The trainer, the jockey, the horse Talk Back Tzars and their “Cash for comment” Indignantly rejected of course Now I can’t talk for Ed – He can’t talk for himself! But I would never be part of a rort My words are not, repeat, not for hire But for a price they could probably be bought © Copyright 2010 Ian Bland Share this:TweetEmailMoreTelegram