Jack Howard - Kaniva Christmas lyrics

Coming home at Christmas, Chasing a western sun, I reach Kaniva, Last of the Wimmera wheat towns, And feels like it too, When you've made hard miles to get there; Shunned once more by spring rains, Perhaps thought unworthy, being that close To the edge of elsewhere. Bethlehem might have been a dump too, Equally unsuited to miracles. In Kaniva, a shagged-out sigh For the season of nativity Is miracle enough itself; On stooped verandah posts Tied tinsel hangs like threads Torn from a lost pageant. On one house, snow edges windows Smeared with the grime Of dust and flies; underneath, A dilapidated cardboard Santa, Wired to God knows where, Winks its lights at the day's brightness. Out front, a sign announces: "Upholsteries done – Free Quotes"; A face peers hopefully, just glimpsed Darkly, through stained gla**. There's doubtless good trade here, Re-stuffing unstitched things. And a rusty warning on next door's gate: "Bewar of the Do.." But the yard is as silent as absent letters. Further west along the highway You reach the Tatiara, "the good country". Though hardly blessed, the gums here Are sparse but strong, a place more propitious For landing, parking and hitching a sleigh. No lowing livestock can be detected, though, Or mangers worth stopping for on your way.