by Martin Anton Smith martinantonsmith@gmail.com
In Inland Otago You Have To Earn Your Dues
This Is Earnt Over Decades, Not Months Or Years
Some Wags Say This Is Overtly Suspicious Behaviour
And While There Is A Large Slice Of Truth In That
I Also See The Other Side Of The Inland Otago People
Outside Of ‘Things People’ Risk Is Harvested Liberally
Otherwise, They’d Never Journeyed & Stayed In This Pioneer-Land
Conversely They Are Very Risk Adverse In Terms Of Relationships
This People Reticence Is Simply Programming Of The Collective Mind
This Is Understandable Yesterday & Today As the Programming Is Robust
This Is Why The ‘Gold Rush Era’ Culture Is Culturally Very Much Still Alive
The ‘Wild West Ways’ Of The Gold Rush Are Roughly Still ‘The Program’
Thus, This Weariness Of Strangers – Is Simply The ‘Lay Of The Land’
It Is Simply The Line Of Least Resistance Naturally Followed
It Is Done Without Thinking Consciously, Without Thought
And This Is Why Sometimes In Inland You Will Hear The Phone Ring
You Answer And Then You Hear Silence For 3 Seconds
Then You Hear An Engaged Tone
The Mysterious Caller Never Spoke A Word
Now Let Me Tell You Of This Seemingly Strange Phenomenon:
It Was A Socially Weary Inland Otago-ean Calling You Back
Only When You Spoke To Said ‘Gold Rush Programmed Soul’ –
Who Was Somewhere In The Universal Ether On the Other Side –
You Revealed Yourself To Be Someone Quite Non-Essential
Yes Sadly, You Were Deemed ‘Superfluous To their Needs’.
Of Course, This Can Be Upsetting – As You Think To Yourself –
“Wow That Person Didn’t Even Bother To Say A Peep”
“What Did I Do Wrong?”
“Why Am I Being Rejected”
“There Must Be Something Wrong With Me“
NO!!! Do Not Be Upset – It Is Simply The Wild West Culture Reappearing
The One Where You Could Be Shot All To Easily – For Nothing Much
Other Than Looking At The Wrong Person In the Eye At The Pub
The ‘Phantom Call Of Inland’ Is Simply One Of Its Many Calling Cards
You Are Being Called By A ‘Wandering Hangover’ From the Past
It Is A Diffuse Energy Form That Exists Behind The Curtain
But Has Its Puppet Strings Controlling The Stage Performance
A Spectre That Still Inhabits The Hearts & Minds Of The Locals
But I ask You Sir & Madam -What Can We Learn of This?
It Is This, My Fine Soul (Who Is Probably New To The Area):
Yes, It Takes Many Centuries For A Culture To Change Significantly
And It Will Not Change Until It Faces a New Cultural Challenge –
One That Is Of Equal Magnitude To The One That Brought About The Now We Have
I.E. The Current “Be Very Weary Of People” Embedded Culture Status Quo
The “Be Weary” Energy Force Came & Was Moulded From:
A Tough Early Life Of Poverty In England Scotland Wales Or Ireland or Other
The Mental & Physical Hardships Of A Boat Trip From England to NZ
Where Some Shady Character Could Easily More Than Wrong You
The Hardships Of Being In A Wild Undeveloped Alien Country Sans Support
Where Poverty & Privation Were Your Always Bedfellows
This Was Amplified For Some By A Move To The Gold Rush Zones
That Today We Could Call “The Inland Otago District”
Yes Sir & Madam – Hardships Were Served Up Aplenty To You As You Waited
As You Waited To Hit The Paydirt That Might Not Come
And The Hardships Got Worse As Time Moved Past The Gold Rush Era
After That You Had World War One & The Spanish Flu
& If You Lived Long Enough
You then Saw The Great Depression & World War Two
And Maybe Even The Start Of The Cold War With the USSR
All These Bad Things Created A Cloud Of Cultural Heaviness
With An Attached Inertia That Was Quite Incomprehensibly Big
Like A Storm Cloud That Just Wouldn’t Move For Days In End
This Collective Force Projected Itself Psychically To The Inhabitants Below
So Now My Friends Now That We Understand ‘Inland Otago Weariness’
We Can Accept It For What It Is Rather Than Regale Against It
And We Need Not Take It Personally
It Is A Survival Mechanism Etched Into Every Human Created In ‘Inland’
It Will Only Reverse When An Epoch Of A Reverse Polarity Happens
This Would Be Akin To Paradise On Earth For A Century.
No Wars – No Hardship – No Violence – No Pain
So That Being Said – Let Us Be Realistic & Realpolitik
Let’s All Enjoy Being ‘Socially Rejected In Inland Otago’ (& Elsewhere)
Let Us All Rejoice In ‘Phantom Phone Hang Ups When They Emanate.
Because After All – Just Like In The ‘Good Will Hunting’ Movie
It’s Not Your Fault
It’s Not Your Fault
It’s Not Your Fault
It’s Not Your Fault
It’s Not Your Fault
Ok You Can Stop Crying Now & I Don’t Like Hugs
I Suggest You Try Some Art Therapy – Perhaps A Boat On A Stormy Sea?
Now Back to Where I left Off – Casual Social Rejection In Inland Otago
Do Not Be Afraid My Delicate Newcomer Petal
It’s Just The Living Ghosts Of The Past Welcoming You Here
They Speak (Or Don’t Speak) Through The Mouths Of Their Hosts
These Their Ancestors Who Are Still Alive Today
So Don’t Worry Your Pretty Little Head
You Can Either Run For The Hills Or Knuckle Down & Stay
And I Hope You Stay As It Is Simply A Thickish Veneer
So That Said – I Am Glad I Cleared That All Up For You Good Folks
Now Excuse Me Sirs & Madams – I Have A Phone Call to Make
But I Ask Of You – Will I Say Hello Or Just Hang Up?
Yes I Am An Inland Otago Man & Thus I Must Suffer From The Veneer
As Surely As The Man In The Coat In A Rainshower Still Gets A Little Wet
Heaven Forbid That Is Probably Quite True For Me
In Closing – It Pays To Remember This – Wherever You Are
You Always Take Last Centuries Weather With You
Whether You Live In Inland Otago, Duluth, Tupelo, Or Liverpool.
And If You Are Honest With Yourself
It Matters Not If You Are Coming Or Going
You Will Always Take Last Century’s Weather With You
And It Covers You In A Thickish Veneer
(Note: You may be interested in some “Bonus Material” relating to this Poem If So Click Here – M.S.)
Anton Martin Smith Writer 