Blue, Green, Red and Purple: Sideshow (at Womadelaide)
…in a shelter of shabby shadecloth,
two thin dark men
tell stories of the Dreamtime…
While the kings and queens of world music are strutting their stuff there’s a sideshow which catches Betty Collins’s compassionate eye.
Shuffling and jigging in swirling orange dust
hot crowds have swarmed to see and hear
The Kings and Queens of the World of Music;
strutting thrusting men and flaunting sexy women
trumpet and flute,
strum and blow ,
challenge and drown all else.
A tiny silent jet
Like a pale mosquito
leaves thin trails of vapour
across a pale blue sky.
Music rules, OK?
And where the sideshows trim the field in shadows and
'New Age' candles flicker on dim painted paper moons,
they quiet their children with trash - lollies, toys and tinsel -
and also educate them.
Served by two faulty speakers and a shaky microphone,
in a shelter of shabby shadecloth,
two thin dark men
tell stories of the Dreamtime.
"Why are they wearing nappies?" my grandson asks.
