Well – I don't speak the way you do
My Aussie accent is "true blue"
I do not even spell your way
I lose the stars – you make me pay!
You say I write in ways quite wrong
But to my country I belong!
At times I use some Aussie slang
Get told I've made a cultural clang
There go more stars – they fall down
My heart falls too, I'm bound to frown.
Am I not right? Have I done wrong?
But for my country, bonds are strong.
Now "don't get your knickers in a knot" –
I'm just kidding, don't mind a jot
Most of my readers are friends, you see
And are learning to just let me be
For that's the way we do things here
But to the "grumps" – let me be clear
Give acceptance, tolerance too
For people who aren't the same as you!
For those who must be always right
Please show some wisdom and insight
Different ways of writing are still fine
You stick to yours – I'll stick to mine!
If there is no respect for me
Does that lead more generally
To moral issues that unfold?
When others' thoughts cannot be told
Because you must be always right ...
Then prejudice becomes a blight.
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Author Notes
I chose an image of happy people as I am not really too peeved. I just "poetically exaggerated", as the prompt suggested.
If you are reading this lighthearted piece, it probably doesn't apply to you.
Most reviewers are good friends who enjoy learning about Aussie differences and accept me, and my spelling and writing, as we are, and I appreciate each one of you. Lots of fun teasing and I love and appreciate it.
However, when reviewers are strident or arrogant about such things I do wonder how tolerant they are of others whose views may differ on moral or ethical topics, not just spelling differences. Are they being too judgmental/judgemental? Do they have a total intolerance of the beauty and variety of diversity and difference?
Just a few are quite critical, and even subtract stars; I am categorically told I am "wrong" or that I have made "errors" and "mistakes", simply because I spell things according to Australian rules.
I disagree. These are cultural differences, and there is no universal "right" way. There are also cultural variations regarding word meanings and writing styles.
If I use the wrong form of "to/two/too" or "for/four/fore" that IS an error, and I welcome correction, of course!
Note: "true blue" means "fair dinkum" or "dinky-di", which in Australian lingo, conveys the idea of "loyal, true, authentic, genuine, the real deal".
"getting your knickers in a knot" means to become unduly upset or annoyed about something.
And when I write the American way, my computer underlines with red squiggly lines to say I've made a spelling error! So I stick to my Aussie ways.
Apologies about the metre ... no, I can't say that's the Aussie way. Unfortunately that's just ME!
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