In his last and

conscious moments

what did Gough think

of the state of this place

over which he long since

had no say but ever

since has shifted

and twisted and turned

towards the modern way?

 

Can we then imagine

this place without his rapid

days of awesome

and awkward change

that created this progressive land

that ever since has

struggled to truly find itself?

 

What did he write

about his legacy that

remains hidden from

most who never cared to know,

or now are not interested

in the subtle effects of history?

 

In his last and conscious moments,

how would Gough see the world

that we have created in the South?

 

And how would he view the

stuttering progress on so

many turbulent fronts

that were for him simple truths?

 

for Edward Gough Whitlam,

visionary and Prime Minister of Australia

 

23/11/2016